Kingdom Hearts: Till the End of Time
by Panzerraptor
Summary: KHxSO3 Cross WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS. Sequel to Star Ocean: Cyrus' Side. Cyrus and the gang are transported to Kingdom Hearts to help Sora and co. stop the Heartless and stop Lystara's plans. Ch.6 up!
1. Chapter 1

Kingdom Hearts: Till the End of Time

Summary: KH/ SO3 Cross Over featuring none other than the shizznit, Cyrus Splicer. After the Star Ocean 3 group (all 10 plus six OCs) defeats Luther and Lystara Catalysta, they must now deal with the Heartless from a certain other dimension... Question is how...?

Disclaimer: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is property of Tri-Ace & Square-Enix. Most of the characters (except Cyrus) and quotes are trademarks of this game and the companies that produced it. Kingdom Hearts is property of Disney & Square-Enix (Square-Soft at the time). The characters are trademarks of the games and the companies that produced them.

Author's Note 1: Italics are thoughts.

Author's Note 2: Just like what was said in the first story, Cyrus will slowly learn about his forgotten past. But will his past have an effect on his future? Note, there will also be a few new worlds. (Please don't flame me.)

* * *

Part 1.1: A New Tale

In a large church of a large kingdom known as Aquaria, a fifteen year old dressed in black clothes sat, contemplating about his previous journey. The juvenile was Cyrus M. Splicer. After their adventure, he and the rest of the gang arrived back in the Castle Aquaria to send Cyrus to the Planet Styx. Not only did they have to defeat the "Creator" of their universe, Luther in his space, but an even more powerful being named Lystara Catalysta in her multiverse built around Yggdrasil. However, it wasn't truly a victory to Cyrus. Before the team could finish her off, Lystara retreated._ "I don't understand,"_ he thought as he was listening to his music._ "How did Lystara Catalysta survive? Not only did Fayt, Maria and Sophia use the power of their genes, but my abilities should've taken her down too! Instead, she somehow squirmed out and escaped."_ He remembered the event very well. Before Cyrus and another swordsman named Fayt could deliver the finishing blow, Lystara somehow opened a vortex and vowed revenge. The words still echoed in his head: _"I'll admit, you damn rebels might have weakened me, but mark my words: I'll be back. And the next time we meet, let's say you'll have to watch your own shadows, fools." _She also claims to know of Cyrus' past, which also further confused him. _"What does she mean by knowing my past? What else is there?"_

On the top floor of the church was a red-headed spy from Aquaria. Her name was Nel Zelpher of the Crimson Blade. She walked over to the bench and sat next to him. "Are you okay Cyrus?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah. Just a bit worried." he looked right in Nel's eyes. "I mean think about it. What if she does come back? She maybe stronger next time. She may be out right now, but I have a feeling she won't back off that easily. And then she says she knows somethin'. What's up with that?"

"I understand, but I have a feeling that if Lystara does show again, she will be no less successful," she comforted. "After all, it was the combined teamwork of everyone, including your comrades. I doubt she can defeat us. Plus, I'm sure that whatever she knows is something that will not have any affect."

"Wow Nel, it seems I rubbed off you a bit!" he said, feeling a little better.

"What do you mean?"

"In these kind of circumstance, I'm usually the cocky one." He looked back at Nel and smiled. "How times change, right?"

"I guess."

The two started laughing until they heard a young girl arrived on the floor they sat. She was fourteen year old circus performer with tanned skin and white hair in two pig-tails, one on each side. She wore a skirt and bangles. Her name was Peppita Rossetti. "Hey you guys," she greeted.

"What's up, Peppy?" Cyrus asked.

"Maria said she has something to tell you guys."

"Okay then. Is there everyone else up there with her?"

"Yep!"

"Then let's go!" The three proceeded up to the balcony where the rest of the gang awaited.

"Yo, homeboy, what's crackin'?" asked Jack Ritz, a good friend of Cyrus.

"Nothin'," Cyrus replied nonchalantly. "Just chillin'."

"You sure you're okay?" Lude Kidingo asked, another comrade of Cyrus'.

"That's right, homie."

"Maria, tell us what's wrong?" replied the young blue-haired leader, Fayt Leingod.

"Well, the Diplo has picked up something unknown," said the Diplo's blue-haired captain, Maria Traydor. It wasn't long until she received another report from the Flagship on her communicator. 'Captain, there's something coming toward you!' said one of the ship's crew members named Marietta.

"What do you mean Marietta?"

"I don't know, but the energy readings are nothing like I've seen before!"

"Could they be remnant Executioners?" Ransack Aires asked.

'No, not as strong but nonetheless, be careful.'

Albel, captain of the Black Brigade, put his hand on his powerful sword, the Crimson Scourge. "Here it comes," the captain said.

Suddenly, a small pool of darkness had appeared. It had then materialized into some sort of strange creature. It was about a foot high with pure yellow eyes, a pair of antennae and sharp claws. It took everyone by surprise, but mostly Cyrus, Jack, Lude's. He knew what this creature is and was in a state of shock. "No, it can't be!" Cyrus said.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked.

"That's a Shadow!" Lude replied. "What the hell is that thing doing here?"

"That's the monster?" Roger Huxley said with a grin on his face. He started laughing uncontrollably.

"Well, I think it's sorta cute," the brunette by the name of Sophia Esteed claimed.

"Hey little guy, you lost or something?" Peppita said.

They were about to move closer, but Cyrus yelped, "Stay back!"

"What's wrong?" Ravage Zinfandel asked.

"Don't take another step toward it!" Lude snapped.

"Why not? It don't look threatening," Cliff Fittir, their Klausian comrade said.

"Don't be too sure about that," Mirage Koas said. Suddenly, two more of the same kind appeared. Then more appeared. Everyone faces were painted in panic.

"We should get out of here you guys!" Rampage said. "These monsters are all over!"

"Why should we? These maggots are weak," Albel said.

"Listen Albel, these creatures aren't from this dimension. Even if we do defeat these, what's to stop the rest of the gauntlet, huh? This is an all out invasion! We have to go, man!" Cyrus explained.

"What! Leave? Whatever, fool. It might fit you, but I don't resort to a coward's tactics," Albel scoffed.

"Hey, I don't run from fights. Never have, never will. But unfortunately, regrouping is our best bet. Every second we spend, we getting outnumbered more and more."

"He's right," Maria agreed. "We have to go. Marietta, time to transport!"

'Transporting...' Everyone was beginning their transport to the Diplo. As soon as they left, the sky began to darken, and more Heartless had emerged from the shadows. Back on the ship, Everyone hurried to the bridge.

"Captain! You're okay!" Lieber shouted in glee.

"Sorry, but we don't have time now! Mirage, put Elicoor II on screen!" Maria said.

"Yes, captain," she said. Mirage quickly ran to her post and typed in the commands. Elicoor II was on the monitor and it wasn't a pretty picture. The planet was colored in a ball of dark purple.

"Oh no! Tynave, Farleen, Clair," Nel said.

"Melt, Dribe," Roger called.

"This is terrible! What's going on?" Peppita said.

"Whatever it is, we need to stop it," Jack replied.

"So what do we do?" Mirage asked.

"There's nothing we can do," Cyrus said. Suddenly, a vortex had opened up in front of the ship. Everyone was speechless.

"I want an analysis on that thing?" Maria asked.

"It's a space-time vortex!" Cyrus said.

"What?" she yelped.

"How do you know this stuff?" Cliff yelled.

"That's the thing that brought me here in the first place. I bet you that's what's also going to take us to where the Heartless truly reside."

"Well, what should we do?" Sophia asked Fayt.

"I say we go in that thing," Jack said. "We don't have enough time to stay here, twiddling our thumbs. If we don't go, this planet... No, the whole universe will be destroyed."

"Alright," he said. "If Cyrus is right, we have no choice. Let's go."

"Put up the shields and head for that rift," Maria commanded.

"Roger," Mirage said. The ship had turned to the direction of the vortex and entered warp speed. As soon as they entered, the ship was speeding through the tunnel of time. There ship entered the vortex. The vessel was rattling due to the pressure. Various sounds were heard and lights were flashing. Suddenly, a flash of light entered the room. The start of a new adventure had just begun.

* * *

Part 1.2: Traversing through Traverse Town 

The chaos had come to an end (for the moment) and Cyrus had landed in an unknown town. Laying on each side of him were Nel and Maria, also knocked out by their arrival. The two girls unknowingly leaned toward and embraced Cyrus. Cyrus wrapped his arms on both shoulders of the women. They slowly woke up. Seeing how close everyone was towards one another, the surprised trio quickly jumped up and screamed.

"What's going on here?" Maria yelled.

"What's happened?" Nel yelled.

"That crap's not important! Where are we?" Cyrus replied. The group look around and saw themselves in an alley.

"Well, there's no point staying here, let's look around, we might find the answers to our question," Maria said after the three caught their breaths. Everyone had nodded in agreement. The three walked out of the alley, and went down the stairs in front of a building. They were now at the center of a new town.

"No! This is whack!" Cyrus exclaimed while stepping back and looking all over the place..

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Maria asked.

"_I know this place. This is Traverse Town; where survivors from worlds attacked by the Heartless are brought. I can't believe it, this game is a universe too!"_ he thought. Cyrus looked up into the night sky. "It's just... I have a feeling we ain't in Kansas no more."

"So, we're somewhere else?" Nel asked.

"Not just somewhere, but maybe somewhen too."

"I wonder what happened to the Diplo?" Maria asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"So, what do we do? And how do we find the rest of our party?" Nel asked.

"Um... Let me think..." Suddenly, Cyrus spotted a familiar, spiky haired kid. _"Could it be?"_ Cyrus just got an idea. "Hey, I got an idea! Let's ask that kid over their"

Nel and Maria looked at the kid Cyrus was pointing at. Then, they looked back at Cyrus with a disgruntled eye. "You've finally lost it," Maria said.

"Ask a child that we don't even know?" Nel asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"For real. I have a feeling that he'll be able to help us. Come on, have I ever proved you wrong?"

"You're beginning to sound like Cliff," Maria said.

"That's good to know, I guess. Now let's go." The three ran over to the kid who stood there with no clue on where he was. "Yo, homie," Cyrus said. The kid turned around to see the three running toward him.

"Who are you guys?" the kid asked.

"Right, guess we should get to the introductions. I'm Cyrus M. Splicer."

"I am Maria Traydor."

"Nel Zelpher."

"Okay, I'm Sora. It's good to meet you."

"So, I was wondering, if you could help us?" Cyrus asked.

"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't know where to begin. To tell you the truth, I'm having the some problems, too."

"Really?" Nel said.

Sora told the group how he arrived in this new world. He said that he suffered an onslaught from Shadows and received a weapon called a Keyblade. Then, he was sucked into a large ball of darkness after he defeated a huge monster. Unfortunately, during these turn of events, he lost not only his home, but his friends Kairi and Riku, as well.

"Hey, don't worry, home boy. Perhaps we could help each other out?" Cyrus said.

"What do you mean?"

"If we help you look for your friends, will you help us find our's," Nel said.

"Well, okay." Sora said.

"It's all set. Let's leave this joint. Perhaps we could go there fo' a while," Cyrus said as he eyed a small shop.

They entered an Accessory Store where a man had greeted them. "Hello, what can I do for– Oh just some kids."

"Hey, we're not kids. I'm Cyrus."

"Yeah and I'm Sora."

"Alright you two, chill out," the man said. He then turned his attention to the two women that stood behind them. "Say, who are these young ladies?"

"I'm Maria Traydor and this is Nel Zelpher."

"My pleasure," the man said. "So, why the long faces. You guys lost or something?"

"No! Well, sorta. Where are we?" Sora asked.

"Huh?" the man gasped.

Sora and Cyrus told the man everything about how they got here. The man answered the question saying that they were in Traverse Town.

"Traverse Town..." Nel replied.

"So, gramps, is this really another world?" Sora said.

"Don't call me gramps!" the clerk snapped. "The name's Cid! I have no idea of what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your island or your... planet."

"Hmm... Guess we'd better start looking for Riku and Kairi."

"Don't forget our comrades too," Maria reminded Sora.

"Oh, right."

"Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing. If you guys ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you."

"Thanks Cid," Cyrus said. After the gang bought some supplies, they left the shop and went up stairs. They went through the door that led to the Second District. As soon as they arrived, a man fell down and was killed. His heart was then sucked out of him and created into a helmet wearing Heartless called a Soldier. The newly created Heartless disappeared and a group of Shadows had appeared in front of them.

"It's those creatures from the island!" Sora said.

"I don't know about your island. All I know is that they're the same things that attacked my world!" Nel replied.

"Well, I guess it's time for a little payback," Cyrus said as he pulled out his Abysmal Offender and red lightsaber. "Shall we?"

"Let's," Maria said. The group pulled out their weapons and Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Children's Story" from Slick Rick. They battled the swarms of Heartless that came in their way. They went down stairs in the Second District and through the Alleyway. They went through a door that connect to the Third District. As soon as they entered, they faced a larger Heartless swarm. All the battles got the team pretty tired and soon, they ventured back to the First District where they walked back to the workshop that Cid was working at.

"Still haven't found 'em?" Cid asked.

"No," Sora said. "We had no luck,"

"Keep your chin up. Take another look around town."

"Alright. Why not," Maria agreed. "There may be a place that we missed."

"You're right," Cyrus said. "I'm not giving up, let's keep searching."

They left the shop and walked to the center of town where they heard a voice that said, "They'll come at you out of nowhere."

"Who are you?" Sora said. The group saw a tall man in front of the shop.

"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade. But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" the man said.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked in retaliation.

"How do you know about the Keyblade," Nel said.

"Who are you three?" the man wondered. "Never mind. Now, let me see that Keyblade."

The man was moving toward Sora, but the gang quickly took battle positions. "What? There's no way you're getting this!" Sora exclaimed.

"Maria, Nel. I want you two to stay out of this battle. I think Sora and I could whip this fool," Cyrus said.

"Are you sure?" Nel said.

"Yeah. He seems to be all talk, but no play."

"Alright," Maria said.

"Hey you," Cyrus called to the man. "If you want Sora's Keyblade, then you have to fight me, too."

"All right, then have it your way," the man said as he pulled out a sword that looked like a large hand gun with a blade shooting out.

Cyrus turned his MP3 Player on to "Vitriolic a Stroke" from Baten Kaitos before he and Sora charged at the man. As soon as they struck, the man jumped back and charged his sword. At the time they saw where the man was, a large fire ball had just been fired at them. At the last moment, the two jumped out of the way. "Whoa!" Cyrus said. "That was close."

"What is that thing?" Sora asked.

"It's called the Gunblade," the man said. "And it is what will insure your lose."

The man leapt and slashed his blade at Cyrus, but the attack missed and Cyrus struck him a couple of times. Sora also made a good string of attacks, sending the man flying back. "It seems that Sora is a skilled warrior," Nel said.

"And Cyrus isn't doing too bad either," Maria added.

The two had the man on the ropes and jumped to where he was, but the man kicked back up and hit them both. Sora and Cyrus landed on their backs, but quickly got back up and with a final strike that drained them both of their energy, they rushed at the man, sword and Keyblade extended; making the last blow. The man knelt to the ground in pain. Sora and Cyrus slowly, walked to their fallen adversary and stood over him, both suffering from fatigue. "Now...you're...gonna...you're gonna..." Sora said, but he collapsed and fell on the ground.

"I'll.. finish... after my... nap..." Cyrus said and he collapsed on the ground.

"Cyrus! Sora!" Nel yelled as she and Maria ran over to their aid.

"Are you okay?" Nel said as she turned Cyrus over to see his face. The two were knocked cold.

"Aw, you're slipping, Leon," a voice said. Maria and Nel looked up and saw a young woman.

"I went easy on them. Looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse," Leon said.

"Who are you two? What are you talking about?" Maria said.

"We can't talk here. Tell you what, let's go to our place. We'll explain everything when we get there," the woman said. Nel and Yuffie picked up the unconscious bodies of Cyrus and Sora and left to a hotel room.

* * *

Part 1.3: Introducing the Heartless

While Cyrus was still unconscious, he had a visit from a familiar person who had caught his attention. "Well Cyrus, you're doing well. I'm glad to have found you!"

"Blair? Hey, long time no see! How are you doing?"

"Fine, but that's not important."

"Wait, how are you able to speak to me in my mind? We're in another dimension?"

"You could thank Sophia for that."

"What Sophia? She's alive?"

"Yes."

"Great! So, where is she? Is she... Wait... Is she in another world?"

"I'm afraid so. That's what I wanted to tell you."

"Alright," he said in a lower tone. "Well, what about Fayt and the rest of my buds? Are they with her?"

"No. It seems they've been sent to other worlds too."

"Great... I'm stuck in the realm of Kingdom Hearts and everyone's stranded on different worlds. How are Nel, Maria and I gonna get everyone here without getting in the way?"

"I don't know Cyrus, but I'm sure you'll think of something."

"Well, time to wake up. I think I'm getting shook violently. Must be Nel. Well, chow." Cyrus ran out of his mind and everything turned white. He woke back up and saw Maria and Nel standing over him.

"Cyrus, it's great to see you're back," Nel said.

"You had us worried. Are you okay?" Maria asked.

"I feel a numbing sensation, but besides that, I'll survive."

"It's good that you're okay, Kairi," Sora said right next to Cyrus looked at him and the woman peering over.

"Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the great ninja Yuffie. I think you might've overdone it, Squall."

"It's Leon."

Sora started looking around and said,"Hey where's–"

"The Keyblade... Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that's how they were tracking you," Yuffie explained.

"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long. Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one," Leon said. As soon as he picks up the Keyblade, it disappears from his hand and reappears in Sora's."Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"Why don't you start making sense! What's going on here?" Sora said.

"Yes," Nel said in a lowered tone. "I don't really understand this predicament so would someone please explain."

"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there, right?" Yuffie asked.

"That's correct."

"But isn't that supposed to be a secret?" Maria asked.

"It has because they've never been connected," Leon replied. "But that was before the Heartless arrived."

"The Heartless?" Sora said.

"The ones who attacked you guys, you remember?" Yuffie asked.

"Those without hearts. The darkness in people's hearts—that's what attracts them. And there is darkness within every heart."

"The embodiments of negative energy..." Cyrus said.

"Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?" Yuffie asked Cyrus.

"Ansem? Never heard."

"Ansem was a researcher who studied the Heartless," Leon said. "He kept all of his documents in his journal."

"Can we see these records?" Nel asked.

"Can't. After he disappeared, the pages of his research have been scattered."

"Scattered?" Maria asked..

"To many worlds," Yuffie said.

"So we need to go and find these reports," Nel said.

"But I have a feeling that we need something..." Cyrus said.

"That's right," Yuffie said. "The Keyblade."

"So...this is the key?" Sora said as he held up the strange shaped weapon.

"Exactly!"

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. As long as you wield it, they'll keep coming after you," Leon explained.

"So, you're saying we're being tracked through a giant key which is supposed to be our defense?" Cyrus said.

"I'm afraid that's the only way to explain it simply," Yuffie said.

"Well, that is a strange dilemma," Maria said.

"I didn't ask for this." Sora replied.

"The Keyblade chooses its master. And it chose you," Yuffie said.

"So tough luck."Leon said.

"How did all this happen? I remember being in my room..." As Sora trailed off, he then remembered a certain past event and was in shock. "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku! Kairi!"

"You know what? I really don't know."

"Hold on a minute. The Heartless are your business. So how did they get to our universe?" Maria asked.

Cyrus took Nel and Maria over to the corner of the room. "I bet you this is Catalysta's doing. She must have opened the temporal rift between this dimension and ours."

"I get it," Maria said.

"Oh yeah. I just got a message from Blair when I was knocked out."

"Are you sure?" Nel said.

"Yeah. She said that everyone is stranded on different worlds. I think that if we ever want to see them again, we better stick with Sora. Since he has that Keyblade, he's our only ticket off this rock.."

"I guess we have no choice," Maria said.

"Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you," Leon said. "You'd better be ready."

"Ready for what?" Sora repeated.

"For the fight for your life. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

"We're going, too," Cyrus said.

"Hey, it's not like we're gonna stay here while our friends are in danger," Maria said.

"What do you mean?" Yuffie said.

"Just because we don't have this 'Keyblade,' doesn't mean we can't fight along your side?" Nel said.

"That's right. We're with you man. We faced a dude that 'created' an entire universe and another that claims to be a god," Cyrus said. "These Heartless are nothing."

"Alright," Leon said. "Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there by now with the other visitors."

"Leon!" Yuffie yelled. Suddenly, a Soldier Heartless appeared out of nowhere.

"Yuffie go!" Leon said. Yuffie ran to the next room. As soon as the door opened, the door hit and flattened Donald.

"Yuffie?" Aerith said.

"We have no time. Let's get out of here!" Meanwhile, in the next room, Sora, Cyrus, Nel and Leon drew their blades while Maria readied her gun.

"Alright you guys, let's go." The Soldier jumped through the window. Leon was in hot pursuit of the enemy Heartless. Sora and the rest of the gang left through the first floor. Arriving outside in the Alleyway, Cyrus and the rest of the gang caught up with Leon and were surrounded by Soldiers."Don't bother with the weaklings. Find the boss!" Leon ran out of the scene.

"Let's do this, people!" Cyrus replied. The group fought against the numerous bands of Heartless until they reached Third District where the real battle began. As soon as they reached the center of the district, two figures landed on Cyrus, Sora, Nel and Maria. One was tall and had some features of a dog, the other was smaller and looked like a duck in a vest.

"The Key!" They said in unison as they saw the Keyblade in front of everyone.

"My back!" Cyrus yelled. Suddenly, large pillars surround the group and they were trapped. Then, the Soldiers arrive and leapt off. The battle had started. With their new teammates, the party was able to defeat the Soldiers with no problem what so ever. After the battle, everybody had an uneasy feeling.

"Something's coming, can you feel it?" Nel asked.

"Yeah, and there it is!" Donald said with his finger pointed up. Everyone looked and saw five pieces dropping from the sky and hitting the ground. As soon as they rebounded, the pieces connected and Guard Armor was born.

"What is that thing?" Maria said.

"It's a Guard Armor. A type of Heartless that can detach and reattach it's body," Cyrus said. "Everyone, focus your attack on a different part. Time to literally break this chump." The battle had started when Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Shrouding Dark Cloud" from Kingdom Hearts. Maria and Goofy were fighting the enemy's feet. Nel and Donald attack its hands. The head and chest was left to Cyrus and Sora.

Maria started to shoot her laser and Goofy charged to the feet with his sword. Maria ran to the feet and kicked at the parts. The feet then tossed themselves up and started to chase her, stomping violently. Luckily, Goofy interceded and blocked the legs, causing them to drop on the ground. Maria fired her gun at the left foot and it was destroyed. The next foot got back up and stomped around. It hit Goofy and then Maria. Maria kicked back up and Goofy also rose up. With their final attack, Goofy rushed at the foot and Maria used her Scatter Beam. The last leg was gone.

Meanwhile, with the arms, Nel and Donald both used their Fire attacks, but the magic only did little damage thanks to the gauntlet's armor. In retaliation, the hands started to whirlwind, hitting Nel and Donald with their sharp claws. After that attack, the gloves were about to use their air punch, but their target stepped out of the way. Nel jumped up and made a smashing impact on one of the gauntlets while Donald used his Fire attack at a distance which threw them on the ground. One of the gauntlets was destroyed, but the other one used whirlwind move. Nel had jumped out of the way to deliver the same attack and Donald was running away. Luckily, because Nel was equipped with her Blades of Ryuusen, there was even more damage delivered to the glove as many balls of ice bombarded at the target and destroyed it. Donald looked back and saw Nel standing there with her arms folded and head cocked.

Sora jumped up and started slashing at the head, while Cyrus focused on the rest of its mid-section. The Guard Armor suddenly, spun around like a top, causing small damage to them, but they still continued their onslaught. It wasn't long until, within a few slashes, the last piece was destroyed and the Heartless was defeated. The Guard Armor started shaking violently and suddenly, a heart was floating above the body and disappeared. Once the heart disappeared, the Guard Armor's remains had vanished. Later on...

"So, you were looking for me?" Sora asked.

"Uh huh," both Goofy and Donald said in unison.

"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade." Leon said as he, Aerith and Yuffie appeared.

"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel," Goofy said.

"What? You mean you're able to do that?" Nel asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Donald said.

"Our friends are on other worlds," Maria said. "We want to get everyone back safely. Can you please help us?"

"I mean, we're fighting the same fight you are. Elicoor II got attacked as well. If you help us, we'll be of equal service to you guys," Cyrus said.

"I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi..." Sora said in a depressed tone.

"Of course," Donald said.

"Are you sure?" Goofy asked.

"Who knows? But we need them to come with us to help us find the king," Donald replied in a whisper.

"You guys should go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends," Leon advised.

"Yeah, I guess," Sora said in a depressed tone.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand? No frowning. No sad face. Okay?" Donald said.

"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" Goofy replied. Donald pushes Goofy's face away.

"This boat runs on happy faces."

"Happy?" Sora looks up and made a large smile. Everybody stayed quiet and suddenly, everyone started laughing. Even Nel started her little chuckle and Maria began snickering.

"That's one funny face!" Goofy said.

"I'll agree with you there," Maria said.

"Okay, why not? We'll go with you guys,"

"Yeah," Cyrus said. Then he looks back and speaks to his partners. "See, didn't I tell you this was a good idea."

"Okay. I admit, you had me worried," Maria replied.

"Donald Duck."

"Name's Goofy."

"I'm Sora."

"It's Cyrus M. Splicer."

"You can call me Nel Zelpher."

"I'm Maria Traydor."

Everybody placed there hand in the center of a circle. "All for one and one for all," Goofy said.

"Well, let's go. Time for our adventure to begin," Cyrus said.

The group left the Third District and were at the town's front gates. "Make sure you have everything you need. There's no telling how far the Heartless spread," Leon suggested.

"You should check the shops. They've got some pretty cool stuff!" Yuffie said.

"This is from all of us." Aerith gave the group 100 munny. "Spend it as you see fit. And this is from Leon." Aerith also gave Sora some elixir.

"Good luck!" Yuffie said.

"I hope you find your friends," Aerith said.

"Look out for each other. Keep your spirits up," Leon said.

"Thank you," Nel said and bowed. Nel, Maria, Cyrus and Sora went back to meet up with Donald and Goofy at the front gate.

Cyrus looked back at Yuffie and then looked at Nel. He began thinking to himself, _"Man, Nel and Yuffie sorta look alike. Then again, it could just be me."_

"The gummi ship is outside that gate," Donald said.

"The what?" Sora said.

"That's our ship," Donald said.

"Wait till you see it," Goofy added.

"Hold on. Sora, take this." Donald gave Sora a scroll that used the power of Fire. "Now you can use magic, too. Goofy, give him that other thing."

"What thing?"

"You know!"

"Oh yeah." Goofy also gave him a scroll that held the ability for Dodge Roll. "Abilities allow you to do all sorts of things. Guess we should look for 'em along the way, huh?"

"Okay, is that it? Let's get going!" Sora eagerly said.

"Not yet." Donald suggested. "We need to get ready first."

"Donald's right." Maria said. "We should first gather some supplies. We'll leave after we're through."

"Well, I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!" a small cricket named Jiminy said to himself.

"You guys go ahead," Cyrus said. "I'll stay here." The group spread out through the First District while Cyrus leaned on the large doors.

"Cyrus, we meet again," a deep voice said. Cyrus looked to the side and saw a tall hooded figure.

"Who are you?" Cyrus replied as he pulled out his Abysmal Offender.

"You do not remember? It's a shame. What's more pathetic is the way you use your power. You're fighting for the wrong side."

"You don't know anything..."

"Know what?" Donald asked. Cyrus adverted his gaze and saw the group standing in front of him. He turned back to his left to see that the hooded character disappeared.

"Know... what ya gonna get," Cyrus quickly recovered. "You do know what got right?"

"Yep," Goofy said. "We have everything we'll need."

"Well that's settled. Let's go see that ship of yours and start our adventure." Cyrus said.

The group left the town and saw the ship. It was by some standards small, and it seemed polygonal. "So this is your vessel?" Nel asked.

"That's right. This ship is designed by gummi blocks. A soft but durable material," Donald said.

"Yeah, plus it has cruise control," Goofy said.

"Sweet," Cyrus said.

"You know, I was a leader of an Anti-Federation Group and captain of a large ship, and there have been no records of ships this small," Maria said.

"Wow! That's cool!" Sora said. "You were a captain of a ship and leader of a space group? Amazing!"

"Wait, are you sure that we can all fit in that thing?" Cyrus asked.

"Of course." Goofy said.

"It may be small, but not too small," Donald explained.

"Okay, well, let's go," Sora said. Everyone entered the ship. After they got in their seats, the ship flew off, ready to enter a new world.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2.1: A Little Big Adventure

With Donald as pilot, the Gummi Ship soared through space. Throughout the trip, the ship faced large obstacles and fleets of Heartless ships. As he and Goofy took the ships controls, Cyrus sat back while fiddling with his black diamond. _"This is strange,"_ he thought to himself. _"Where did this diamond come from? I wonder what dwells in this gem... And what who was that dude in Traverse Town? I'm sure it was Ansem, but something's tellin' me that it wasn't. But what matters is, what does this person want with me?"_

"What are you thinking about?" Sora asked.

"Me? Oh... nothin'. I be chillin' out, see. As a genius, you can't help but to think about new strategies. You could say I'm a hardcore tactician."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Back in the day, me, Jack, and Lude be plannin' for all kinds of stuff. From how to get chicks to how to bring on the pain. And also the origin of humans."

Sora was confused and gave Cyrus a cock-eyed glance. "What?" he said simply.

"He means that he and his friends were thinking of a lot of things," Maria clarified.

"But that changed as soon as the Heartless attacked," Nel explained. "Those things engulfed our world and sent us to another realm: this realm. It seems that some how, we got separated."

"This is the third time I was thrown into a different universe, but I don't really mind," Cyrus said. "It isn't all that bad."

"I see what you mean," Sora said. "But don't worry you guys. I told you that I will help you anyway I can."

"And we will help you guys, too," Cyrus said. "After all, it wouldn't be cool if you did all the work and us just sittin' on our butts. Besides, there's nothin' better we like to do than to put the whoopin' on some narks."

"We're here!" Goofy called. Cyrus and the gang rushed to the windows and saw the world of Wonderland. It appeared to be a large ball with two shades of checkered pink with hearts inside. It had a castle on the top side and a small house on the bottom.

"That has got to be the weirdest blimp I have ever seen," the young shizznit.

"That's not a blimp, silly. That's another world."

"And from what I'm getting on the radar, the Heartless are here," Donald said.

"And what about our friends?" Sora asked.

"Yeah... They could be here, too."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Maria said. "Let's go and take a look around." Donald typed on the control console and the group were transported off the ship. The group of six found themselves floating down a small tunnel. It was so relaxing that Goofy was taking a brief snooze. When they reached the bottom, everyone landed on their feet. All except for Goofy who fell down hard. This made everyone giggle for a second.

"Well, that was fun," Nel said.

"Yeah," Cyrus replied. "It's a little different without wings, but I guess it's nonetheless cool."

Without warning, a small white rabbit hurried past the group. "Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" the lagomorph replied in haste. "Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!"

The group stood silent and confused at what had just passed them by. "Well, that was unexpected." Maria said, breaking the silence.

"Did everyone just see a white rabbit with a vest and a pocket watch bust through here?" Cyrus asked.

"I sure did," Sora said.

"That's good. I didn't want to think that I was the only one."

"Let's go see what's wrong with the little guy," Goofy suggested.

The group walked through the hall and opened a door, which also opened two more. They entered the new room called the Bizarre Room. When they were there, they saw the same rabbit opening yet another door in front of them. The party walked to the smaller entrance and knelt down. "How did a three foot tall rabbit shrink to three inches in under a minute?" Cyrus asked.

"It's not the door that's too small, it that you're too large," said the doorknob which shocked the group in the process.

"Now a talking handle?" Maria said in surprise.

"And I thought I saw everything," Nel said to herself.

"Can you please keep it down?" the doorknob asked. "I'm trying to get some sleep."

"Good mornin'," Goofy replied.

"Good night!"

"Wait a minute," Sora said. "Can you tell us how we can shrink?"

"Go to that table..." the doorknob hinted before yawning. "Drink the potion in the smaller bottle." With that said, the knob went to sleep.

"What table?" Donald said. "I don't see a– whoa!" In the center of the room where the duck stood, the table rose beneath him and threw him to a bed on the other side of the room where it was pushed into the wall and revealed another passageway.

"Good job, Donald!" Goofy congratulated. "You found another way through!"

Donald got up and walked unsteadily. "Yeah... It was a piece of... cake..." The dazed mage lost his balance and fell on his back.

Cyrus walked over to the desk and looked at the jar. "'Wonderland Shrink Potion,'" he read. "'Guaranteed to reduce the size of the user by seventy-six percent or your money back. CAUTION: Do not use if you have any health problems, pregnant or live in the presence of rodents, small birds, spiders, insects or reptiles. Also, the developments of schizophrenia have been observed if overused.'"

"Well, at least they're kind enough to give us a warning," Nel said sarcastically.

"So, do you think we should use it?" Goofy asked. The group looked around the room for any small animals.

"Pass me that bottle, Cyrus," Sora said.

"Bold choices make for a brave warrior," Cyrus said. "Remember that tip, home boy." Cyrus tossed Sora the potion in which he drank. He passed it to the rest of the group members who each took a sip.

As soon as Cyrus put the jar back on the table. The party shrunk drastically. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting the feeling it's only going this world will be stranger as we go along," Maria said.

"_You have no idea..."_ Cyrus thought. Suddenly, strange forms emerged from the shadows and above the group. It was an ambush set by the Heartless. On the ground, they had to face Shadows and Soldiers. In the air, there was a mob of three new types colored in red known as Red Nocturne.

"Dang!" Sora hissed. "We're surrounded!"

"Fine by me," Nel said. "Let see how powerful they really are."

Cyrus, Sora and Nel teamed up against one half of the enemies. With "To Our Surpise" from Kingdom Hearts blaring in Cyrus' ear, the trio climbed up the chair and jumped on top of the table. There, Sora pulled out his Keyblade, Nel drew her Blades of Ryuusen, and Cyrus took out his Abysmal Offender and activated his red lightsaber. On the table, a band of Heartless gathered in front of the group. As Nel took the foes on the left flank and Sora occupied the enemies at the front, Cyrus focused on the right swarm. Cyrus hurled the lightsaber at his enemies and rushed at the others with his Abysmal Offender. Two Soldiers and a couple of Shadows rushed at him and were about to pounce. Before they could lay a claw on him, his lightsaber returned and sliced the airborne enemies as it passed. As soon as he caught the weapon, Cyrus put away the lightsaber, jumped back and charged his Fire Bolt. In front of him, five Red Nocturnes were approaching him while he was in mid-air. With his symbological attack charged, Cyrus launched balls of fire from his hands which made direct hits at two of the enemies, but the attack was absorbed. Cyrus was about to fall off the table, but he grabbed on to the edge with his free hand. The red Heartless had already shot their fireballs, hitting the left and right side. Before the last hit the middle, Cyrus had already threw himself up toward the enemies. A small grin appeared on his face and he delivered a swift spinning slash at the opposition with his Abysmal Offender. Nel was surrounded by five Shadows and a Soldier. She stood still, waiting until one of the enemies made their move. Behind her, the lead Soldier used a powerful headbutt. Nel saw it coming and countered by jumping up in the air, avoiding the attack, and then catapulted herself at the attacker. A Shadow jumped at her. When she bounced off the Soldier, the Aquarian spy rammed into the other enemy. The other four Heartless ganged up on her with slashes and aerial jumps. However, Nel used her speed to escape the attack, and then destroyed them with a powerful slashes. After she was through with the foot soldiers, a rain of flames struck the table; courtesy of the Red Nocturne. Nel hurled herself at the one of the opponents and then slashed it. Thanks to her blades, balls of ice showered upon the other foes and weakened them drastically. With a few swift slashes, the enemies were gone in less than sixty seconds. Sora had his hands full with two Soldiers and four Shadows. One of the Shadow in front of him pounced, but the Keyblade wielder jumped and executed powerful strikes at his enemy. As soon as he landed back to the table, he evaded a headbutt by one of the Soldiers. The group of Heartless were approaching him from the behind. Sora quickly turned around and slashed at his enemies. Only one Soldier remained, and it was going to strike Sora with its claws. Sora rolled out of the monster's way and sliced the enemy with powerful blows until the Heartless was defeated. Suddenly, a ball of fire was launched and landed on the table. He barely dodged the magical strike. When Sora looked up, he saw four Red Nocturnes hovering above him. Sora leapt up and sliced at the floating Heartless. In a short time, the battle was over. Down below, Goofy had already exterminated the last Shadow.

"How are you doing down there?" Cyrus asked.

"We're fine," Maria called. "You?"

"Never better."

"Let's get out of here before more of them show up!" Donald insisted.

"Why not?" Sora said.

Nel, Sora, and Cyrus jumped off the table and, with Donald, Goofy, and Maria, went to the next entrance. When they left the Bizarre Room, the six found themselves in a room filled with guards shaped like playing cards and wielding axes. One variety were black spades that carried axes and the others were red hearts armed with spears. The white rabbit raced passed the cards. As he did, the cards cleared the path which led to an outdoor jury. The time-keeping lagomorph climbed up the left stand and blew his horn. "Court is now in session," he said.

"What?" said a girl with blonde hair and white dress. "How did we get on trial?"

"This is nuts!" exclaimed the taller brunette with a wand and wearing pink clothes. Both stood in a small stand in front of the judge's, which sat a rather massive woman.

"Her majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding," the white rabbit said.

The large woman fanned her self with scowl on her face as she stared at the two girls on trial. "There's no denying it," she huffed. "These two girls are the culprit! Why is that? Because I said so!"

"That's unfair!" the blonde named Alice retorted.

"We didn't do anything!" the brunette said.

"Well, do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Of course!" Alice said. "We did absolutely nothing wrong! You may be the Queen, but you're so... so mean!"

"She's right! You have no right to act like that!"

"Silence!" the Queen huffed. "You dare defy me?"

"Hey, guys," Sora said. "Don't you think we need to help them?"

"I sure do," Maria said.

"But we can't!" Donald said.

"We're outsiders," Goofy added. "We would be muddling?"

"That's meddling!"

"Right. And that's against the rules!"

"Why is that?" Sora asked.

"When you're dealing with intergalactic business, you don't want to interfere in such matters. It could accidently ruin the history of the world."

"This sounds like the UP3 in our universe," Maria said.

"Yeah," Cyrus said. "I'm sure Fayt would be loving it."

"Say..." Nel said as she stared at the brunette. "Doesn't the girl in pink look familiar to you?" she asked Cyrus.

"Yeah..." Cyrus said scanning her. "Wait! That's Sophia!"

"Who?" Sora said.

"A good friend of ours!"

"This court finds the two defendants... guilty!" ruled the Queen. "For the crimes of assault and theft of my heart... Of with both of their heads!"

"No, please!" Alice pleaded.

"Stop this!" shouted Sophia.

"Yo, yo, yo, time fo' you to step off!" shouted Cyrus with the rest of the group not too far behind. "OGC and his crew are in da hizzouse! You alls be incringin' their rights, know what I'm sayin'!"

"Cyrus! Nel! Maria!" Sophia called in both disbelief and relief. "You're here! I still don't understand what you said, but it's good to see you!"

"Sophia, it's nice to see ya," Cyrus replied nonchalantly. "Don't worry, we'll get ya out."

"Let those two go!" Sora said.

"Who are you?" the Queen demanded. "What gives you the right to interrupt my court?"

"We know who really did it, Your Majesty!" Nel said.

"That's right, it's the Heartl–" before Goofy could say another word, Sora covered his mouth.

"What matters is that they're not responsible for it," Sora said.

"This is preposterous!" the Queen of Hearts boasted. "Do you have any evidence?"

"Er... No..." Was the only response Cyrus made before the Queen gave another order.

"Guards! Confine those two!" Alice was thrown into a cell next to the Queen and Sophia was thrown in another cage on the ground next to the jury stand.

"Don't worry," Maria assured. "We'll get you two out."

"Please hurry," Alice said.

"Bring me some evidence to prove their innocence," the Queen said. "If you fail, then it is off with all of your heads! Return back here after you find it! Understand?"

"Loud and clear," Cyrus said before cleaning the wax out of his ears.

"This is one strange kingdom," Nel replied.

"Tell me about it," Donald said under his breath as they walked out of the palace and into the Lotus Forest, a new area that was going to prove stranger.

* * *

Part 2.2: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

When they set foot in the woods, the group took in the sights and sounds. It looked like a normal forest, aside from the fact that they were the size of field mice. They were so small, that the blades of grass were as tall as a small house. "Whoever said it was a small world had no idea of what they were saying," Donald stated.

"Word," Cyrus said.

"So, where do we start first?" Nel questioned.

"Perhaps I can be of help, or perhaps not," a voice said.

"W-Who's out there," Sora said.

Without warning, a feline head was floating around in front of the party. "What the-?" Donald blurted.

"A demon?" Nel said as she pulled out her daggers.

On a stump next to the group was a purple and pink body balancing on the same wide-smiled head. It then reached for its head and attached it back to its body "Who are you?" Donald asked.

"Who indeed," the feline said. "Poor Alice, unfortunate Sophia. Ready to loose their heads for something they didn't do."

"So you know who did it?" Maria asked.

"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers- but will not always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat lie in darkness." With his hint, the Cheshire Cat disappeared.

"Wait-!" Sora replied a little too late.

"They have already left the forest, though I will not say which way," said the cat's voice. "There are four clues you must find. The first three are easy, but the fourth is hard to get. If you can find it, then I will give you a gift."

"Should we believe him?" Donald asked.

"To believe or not to believe," the cat riddled. "I believe you will find the right choice."

"Well, let's get to it."

"Of course," Nel replied. But before they could continue, the group was ambushed by Heartless. Besides the ones they have faced, the new and stronger Heartless was the massive Large Body. Though they were slow, this form proved to be quite powerful and their belly also gave them a good defense. However, they were still no match for speedy attacks behind the back, especially when the blows came from Nel, Sora, and Cyrus. Or rapid shots from Maria's laser gun. Another form was the White Mushrooms. These fungus like forms were nothing compared to their kin. Instead of attacking, these Heartless were gentle and gave gifts to a few members of the party that cast the correct spells. In return, the White Mushrooms handed the gang potions and vanished. As they looked through the forest, they found two boxes: One contained a set of Footprints, the other, a pair of Shadow antennae. "Okay, we have half of the stuff," Donald said. "So where are the other two?"

"It seems we need to go to another room," Cyrus suggested. He looked up at the large tree and saw a large hole in the trunk. "There," the shizznit said simply.

"How do you know?" Nel asked.

"It's called shizznit intuition."

"Then let's go for broke." The group leapt onto a couple of mushrooms and hopped on lily pads. They leapt to the tree and went in the hole. The group found themselves on top of the fire place with the small box in front of them.

Cyrus picked it up and peered into it. But before he could see anything, the smell was the first thing that got the shizznit as he quickly sealed the lid. "Phew... This stuff is carrying some serious B.O.!"

Cyrus let the group take a sniff, and the reactions were pretty much the same as his, if not more. "Hurry up and close that thing!" Maria replied while swishing her hand.

"That's three down, and one to go," Nel said.

"Any ideas of where the next one is?"

"It could be somewhere in this room," Donald said.

"He's right," Sora said. "Let's go back to the forest and try another of them exits."

The group left the room and reentered the forest. With help from a yellow flower, the group was able to take another route by using the same way as they came in. They landed up on thebookshelf of the Bizarre Room, but they found the fourth and last box containing a set of claw marks. As soon as Sora reached for the box, the Cheshire Cat appeared, once again surprising the gang. "Would you stop doing that?" Donald squawked.

"Well done," the feline congratulated. "You found the fourth clue."

"Thank you," Goofy said.

"That means we can save Alice," Sora said.

"And Sophia," Cyrus added.

"Don't be too sure about that," the Cheshire Cat said. "She may be innocent, but are you?"

"What do you mean?" Nel asked.

"I will not say. Now, as promised, for you." the cat handed Sora a small scroll just like the one. Except this one gave him the ability to learn the Ice spell known as Blizzard.

"Thanks," Sora said. However, the cat was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, now that we have the evidence, let's go back to that court," Maria said.

"I'm getting the feeling that even with the proof, the Queen will not give up that easily," Donald said.

The group returned to the court where the Queen of Hearts fanned herself slowly in their presence. "Do you have your evidence?"

"You bet," Cyrus said. "All of it is 100. You can't argue with this."

However, the Queen wasn't won over that easiliy. "Is that so. Just so you know, I have evidence of my own..."

The group was in surprise when they heard this. "Then we all agree that Sophia and Alice are innocent," Maria replied headstrongly.

Her Majesty snickered. "Actually, my evidence shows otherwise."

"What?" they all said in unison, including the imprisoned.

"It's planted!" Cyrus replied. He looked at Sophia who had a worried look on her face. He clenched fists and gave a serious glare at the Queen. "Fine, you want to play like that, we're game."

"Very well," the Queen said. "Your friends will be on the jury bench. You and that kid will take your place on that podium and present the evidence." The group complied with a nod. As Goofy, Donald, Maria, and Nel took their seats on the right side of the court, Cyrus and Sora stood in the booth facing the Queen. They laid their boxes on the rail. "I must say, that is a lot of proof. However, I'm still not affected. Guards, show them my evidence." The Queen's cards brought one box forward. "Going through all the boxes would take too much time. That is why you will use only one piece. I will decide the guiltiness based on that evidence."

"After all that work?" Sora replied.

"That's messed up!" protested Cyrus.

"How dare you object!" snapped the Queen. "I am the Queen of Hearts. Everything I say is right and true! I am the law! Defy me once more, and it will be off your heads. Now choose!"

"Dang!" Sora hissed. He turned back to Cyrus and asked "Well, what should we choose?"

As Cyrus thought, a strange but familiar smell got his attention. "I think I know. Don't you smell that?"

Sora sniffed and caught the strange odor. "I get it now..."

"What is your decision?" the Queen asked.

"We choose the second from the right."

"Are you sure? There are no second chances."

"Yes, that's our final answer," Cyrus sneered.

The Queen signaled one of her guards to open the lid. The two blade wielders watched intently while the rest of the party and the prisoners anxiously awaited the result. After the lid was removed, the stench became more apparent and a Soldier had emerged. When it landed on the ground, the Heartless disappeared. "What in good heavens was that thing?" the Queen asked.

"That's the get-out-of-jail-free card."

"Alice and Sophia didn't do anything."

The Queen of Hearts was swelling up with so much anger, that her face was boiling red. She slammed her fan down and bent over the rail in front of her. "Enough!" she shouted. "Article 29 clearly states whoever defies the Queen is guilty!"

"That's nuts!" Donald shouted.

"You have to be kidding me?" Nel said.

"I have made my ruling!" the Queen shouted. "Guards, seize them! Off with all of their heads!" The podium Cyrus and Sora stood on and the jury bench Donald, Goofy, Nel, and Maria stood in disappeared. In the middle of the court, a small tower with gears appeared and a soldier hastily ran to the structure, pulling at the gears. This caused Alice's cage to raise and a curtain had covered it. The cards pulled out their axes as the rest of the group pulled out their weapons. Cyrus was about to use his swords, but put them back and took a fighting stance instead. "If any of them touch that tower, then it's off with your heads!" threatened the Queen.

"Then I guess that means a lot of you guys are going to be decapitated," Maria said.

"So, you wanna play like that, huh?" Cyrus sneered. "Fine by me! The dark one's playin' to win, chumps! Maria, you, Goofy and I will try and free Sophia," Cyrus planned.

"Alright," Goofy said.

"Okay," Maria said.

"We'll take care of the tower," Donald said.

Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Rollout" Ludicris and with Goofy and Maria behind him, went to Sophia's cage. As they traveled, the group was intercepted by a few card soldiers. As Goofy rushed at them head on with his shield and Maria fired her laser at the enemies, Cyrus used a bit of his martial arts. One soldier tried to slash him with the axe on his left side, but the shizznit blocked the hit with his arm just behind the double blade. Another strike came from behind on his right side through an overhead slice, but Cyrus got out of the path and grabbed the pole. He tightened his grip and pulled the axes ahead of each other, until he held them both at the middle. He spun the weapons around and blocked the many hits that came at him. He did this until he was near Sophia's prison. "Cyrus!" she called out.

"Don't worry," he assured. Cyrus then held out the weapons at the end of their poles and spun around quickly. The cards that were in the path of the spinning blades fell hard.

Using this opportunity, Cyrus tossed one of the axes away and slashed the lock off Sophia's cage before discarding the other. "My staff!" Sophia replied. Cyrus looked around and saw that the Queen had it in her seat. He went through the deck of cards that were in his way. The shizznit blocked many of the strikes and punched and kicked some of the guards in his way. Before Cyrus got to the stand, Cyrus slid past the last three guards. When he arrived at the Queen's podium, he leapt into the air, barely missing a wack from her fan, and snagged the staff before landing on the other side. He raced back to Sophia with the staff in hand, but not before facing the three soldiers. Cyrus leapt up into the air and catapulted himself at the middle enemy. He landed in the middle of the trio. Seeing he was surrounded, Cyrus used a break dancing move known as the windmill. He kicked his legs around in a circle over the ground. He did this by flipping his body over and shifting from one hand to the other. The cards were knocked down by the powerful kicks of the stylish attack. He kicked back up and handed Sophia her wand. They both hurried to the tower. With team's skill, they were able successfully destroy the tower.

The cage was lowered and Sora ran to it. He pulled the curtain to the side, but found nothing. "Where's Alice?" he asked in concern.

"Maybe she escaped during the battle," Donald said.

Nel walked toward the cage and investigated it. "I don't think so," she said with a stern look. On the bottom, there were a few scratch marks.

"I don't think those are from nails," Cyrus replied.

"You idiots!" the Queen shouted to her cards. "I don't care what you twits do, but find whoever was behind this! Now!" The card guards scattered throughout the court.

"Let's go," Cyrus said. "There's no time to waste."

With Sophia in toe, the group rushed into the Lotus Forest. When they arrived, one of the red flowers spat out a large boulder toward the small lake. Appearing on top of it in a handstand was the Cheshire Cat. "Have you seen Alice?" Maria asked.

"Alice, no," the cat said. " But Shadows, yes."

"Which way did they go?" Goofy asked.

"This way? Perhaps that way? Left, right, up, down, center! It's all confusing thanks to those shadows. Maybe they're in the upside-down room. Go forward through the forest, where you will find another passage." As soon as the cat left, the group was ambushed by Heartless. "What are these things?" Sophia yelped.

"Heartless," Cyrus said. "The same things that attacked Elicoor II."

"That's terrible! We have to stop them before they do the same thing here!"

"Our thoughts exactly," Sora said.

The group combated against the Heartless throughout the forest trail. As they came closer to the destination, the number of Heartless increased. However, the sheer odds didn't affect the party of seven and they soon reached a large table with dishes and chairs. "I wonder what this is?" Sophia asked.

Nel saw a small portrait near the dinner table. She looked at the picture which also had a note near it. "'Wow, that's a lot of stuff! Have fun! And a very merry un-birthday to you!'" she read.

"What does that mean?" Goofy asked.

"It means this place is stranger than we thought," Donald answered. "Well, let's forget about that and get in that house."

"Fine by me," Maria said. The group entered the house. They walked past the walls and found themselves near two tables.

"I wonder," Goofy said. "Why is this place called the Upside Down Room?"

"Look up, and you'll see why," Nel replied as he stared at the "ceiling". The group was stunned.

"Are we where I think we are?" Sora said.

"That's right," Maria replied. "It appears that we're dangling from the ceiling."

"But how's this possible?" Donald asked.

"This is enigmatic," Cyrus said. "Such a phenomenon is unheard of. This is truly testing every known law of physics. Even insects that crawl on surfaces like these or bats that roost upside down still need to cope with the Earth's gravity that pulls objects to the ground."

"There are some laws that are meant to be broken," a voice said. They looked at the closest table and saw the Cheshire Cat leaning against the lamp. The group jumped on top to meet the feline.

"Okay, so where are all the Heartless?" Sora asked.

"They're hiding here. Try turning on this lamp," said the cat before it disappeared.

"Okay." Sora walked toward the lamp and touched the candle's glass with his Keyblade. As soon as he did, the wick of the candle was burning and a light appeared above them. Half of the room was lit. "We did it, but I still don't see anything."

"It's still too dim," the Cheshire Cat said when it reappeared. "Try making it brighter."

"How do we do that?" Sophia asked.

"Just one more lamp to light."

"Leave it to me," Cyrus said. He leapt to the other table and walked toward the lamp. Using his power, the shizznit created a small flame on the tip of his finger and placed it in the container. Afterwards, the entire room lit up. "All set."

"The lights are now lit. You will see the shadows soon. However, they'll arise elsewhere in this room. Perhaps they'll go after that doorknob."

"Then we must hurry," Nel replied.

"Uh-oh," Sophia said looking down from the table.

"What do you mean by 'uh-oh', Sophia?" Sora asked.

"After talking about how we'll find the Heartless, I think it's the Heartless that found us."

The group looked down and saw a small army converging to the table and a few aerial enemies flocking toward them. From the number of enemies, it appeared that they were trying to keep the group away from something. After pulling out their weapons, the team went into battle. Cyrus, Goofy, and Nel fought the ground troops while the others focused their attacks on the flying foes. Goofy paved through the smaller Soldiers and Shadows as he charged with his shield. Cyrus charging energy, as he did, a black aura was engulfing his body. He pulled out his Abysmal Offender and used his Shadow Slash. A few of the smaller foes leapt at the dark shizznit. However, before they could touch him, Cyrus had already slashed at the enemies in a straight line. Many of the Heartless were destroyed, including a Large Body that was in his path with a swift and fatal slash. Nel was able to destroy a large group of enemies with her Shockwave. A large wave sliced through a swarm of Heartless, weakening a few and destroying others. The ones that survived were dealt with by powerful slashes from her daggers. After the three defeated a the last Large Body, the ground battle was over. On the table, Sora hacked and slashed at a few Red Nocturnes. Behind him, one of them was preparing to attack from behind. However, it's cover was blown as a stream of Ice Needles from Sophia had stopped it from charging up energy and critically weakening it. Maria used her Scatter Beam. By using a beam to pinpoint at the head of the Heartless, the enemy was shot with a strong laser shot and destroyed. In front of her, a swarm of Red Nocturnes fired upon her. Maria dodged a few of the shots. When she leapt back, the Quark captain fired her Scatter Beam. An array of lasers were shot from her gun and hit a few of the heartless. When she landed, a couple more circled her. At the same time, the previous ones that were weakened also joining the fray. Both groups were charging their powers while sizing up Maria. At the last moment, a rain of lightning from Donald's Thunder attack exterminated them all. The battle was over and the Heartless in the room were gone, or so they thought. Cyrus knelt down on his knee from his Shadow Slash. "Strange..." he thought to himself. "The last time I was worn out from Shadow Slash was when I first used it."

"Cyrus," Sophia said as she walked over to Cyrus. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... Just need to catch my breath."

"Here, let me help you." With Sophia's Healing ability, Cyrus regained his strength and the affects of his fatigue were gone.

"Thanks for the aid."

"Don't mention it."

"So where do we go now?" Nel said.

"Didn't the cat say the Heartless were after the doorknob?" Donald asked.

"That's right!" Sora replied. "Maybe we'll be able to stop the Heartless before they can get to it."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Cyrus said with a smirk on his face. "Let's take get out of here!"

The group left the room by opening and entering a latch. This led them back to the Queen's court where several of the cards were still on the search for Alice. They left the garden and arrived back in the Bizarre Room, right-side up once more. "Hey look!" Donald shouted. The group spied the table and saw the Cheshire Cat sitting on its surface.

"Come," the cat said. "You'll have a better view up here." The group walked to the destination. The jumped on the chair and hopped to the table. The cat leaned on the size manipulating jars. "The shadows will be here soon. I hope you're ready for the worst. If you aren't, too bad."

"What do you mean?" Maria asked.

"Look!" Goofy yelped. Hanging from the ceiling, a large, bizarre-looking Heartless ambushed the party. It dropped from its hiding place and cartwheeled backward, leaping over the table. The creature stood on two long legs, each held by four bars. As it rose, its tapering arms unfolded. It barely had a body, which housed five heads that were colored in a red and black pattern. Once it rose, the foe pulled out two paddles and began juggling them.

"A Trickmaster," Cyrus warned. "Stay on your guard."

"We can take that thing on," Sora said. "Let's just go back and–" as soon as Sora turned around he gasped.

"What's wrong?" Nel asked.

"The potion's gone!"

"Where did it go?" Sophia said.

"I don't know!"

"It looks like we're in big trouble," Goofy said.

"Luckily, we at some vantage," Maria explained.

"That's right," Cyrus said. "As long as this table's here, a few of us should be able to land some blows on it."

"Goofy, Cyrus, and I will go down and grab its attention," Sora said.

The group nodded and got into battle positions. Before Cyrus pulled out his red lightsaber and Abysmal Offender, he turned his MP3 Player to "Let Me Rock" from the X-Ecutioners. The Trickmaster stomped toward the group, twirling the paddles in its hands. Cyrus, Goofy, and Sora jumped to the ground and began attacking it. As they did, the rest of the party on the table used their long ranged attacks on the foe. The Trickmaster appeared to be weakening. That was until the Heartless used its paddles. Each time it lowered, the foe swung its massive weapons, wacking the group with swift strikes despite its massive size. The Heartless did this several times before it knelt to the ground from a stream of ice from Sophia's Ice Needles struck the foe directly in on of the faces. The trio on the floor went saw this as a chance to attack. Powerful slashes from Cyrus' swords and Sora's Keyblade, along with strong tackles from Goofy's shield, were sending damage to the Heartless. However, the raid didn't last for long as the Trickmaster shot back up quickly. The first thing it did was sweeping the ground group away. Then it turned its attention to the four other members on the table. Raising it's paddles, the Trickmaster slammed its weapon on the furniture, smashing it flat and causing Maria, Nel, Donald and Sophia to fall onto the floor. Goofy, Sora, and Cyrus saw what had transpired and raced to help their comrades. "Are you guys alright?" Goofy asked.

"What do you think, genius?" Donald replied in a snide tone.

"Look out!" Sophia warned as she saw one of the Trickmaster's batons speeding towards them. The group barely survived when the weapon slammed to the floor.

"I'm burning up now!" Cyrus shouted at the foe. "It's time to turn up the heat with the hotness!" As Maria shot her laser up at the head with rapid shots, Cyrus activated Blazing Sword. His red lightsaber was shrouded in a raging inferno. He leapt up and catapulted himself like a disk, slashing at the Heartless with his burning energy weapon as he spun like a wheel. Goofy was catapulting himself straight up, making impact at the enemy. Nel also joined the aerial barrage as she catapulted herself at the head. All three made a direct hit, but were thrown back before they could make anymore damage. However, with the fireball from Donald, the monster was again knelt down. The group attacked the monster with powerful combos, weakening it greatly. On it's last reserves of energy, the Trickmaster got back up and walked over to the stove. In a few seconds, the Heartless' paddles were on fire. As the group approached, the Heartless jumped in the air and swung its burning weapons, hurling embers at the group. When they were in short range, the party started their assault on the enemy. As they attacked, they made sure to watch for the swinging attacks the giant was making. After a well aimed stream of ice chunks from Nel's Ice Daggers hit the Trickmaster's head, the enemy knelt down. The team attacked the enemy with everything they had. With the finishing slashes from Cyrus and Sora, the Heartless rose up quicker than before. The team watched their enemy carefully. However, before the enemy could attack once more, the Trickmaster fell backward, slamming hard on the ground. The battle was over as they watched a glowing heart float from the foe's dispersing body.

"That was fun," Maria said.

The group then heard a yawn from behind them. They turned and saw that the doorknob woke up from his sleep. "What is with all the racket...?" it asked wearily.

"Sorry about that," Cyrus said. "We were just in a middle of a life-or-death battle, you know?"

"Well next time, keep it down. If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to get some sleep." As the doorknob yawned, the team saw a small keyhole glowed in its mouth. Then, without warning, Sora's Keyblade went out of control.

"What going on?" Nel asked.

Before Sora could respond, a beam of light shot at the end of the weapon and through the keyhole. A strange click was heard before the doorknob closed its mouth and fell back asleep. "What was that?" Donald asked.

"Who knows," Sora answered. "But it sounded like something locked." If that wasn't weird enough, a mysterious object dropped to the floor in front of the doorknob.

"Is that one of the gummi pieces?" Maria asked.

"It is," Goofy said. "But it ain't like the others."

"I guess I'll hold on to it," Donald said. He bent down and picked the new piece up.

"Splendid," said the Cheshire Cat's voice from the now risen table. "You truly are a hero. However, if you're still searching for Alice, she's left. Of with the shadows and into the darkness."

"Oh no..." Sophia said.

"No way..." Sora said.

"Yo playas, we did all we could," Cyrus said.

"He's correct," Nel said. "Just because we missed Alice, doesn't mean we won't run into her again."

Maria nodded in agreement. "There maybe a chance that we'll run into her again."

"In the meantime, let's get back to the gummi ship," Donald said. "Perhaps she's on another world."

"Then we have no time to loose," Sora replied. The group went to the table and drank the growth serum. The team grew to their original size and left the room.

However, before Cyrus joined them, he sensed a presence in the room standing behind him. He turned around and it was the same hooded figure he met in Traverse Town. "What do you want, now?" the shizznit asked.

"You really have grown from when I last saw you," the deep voice said. Except this time, he could tell that it was female. "Your powers have matured quite a bit, Mr. Splicer. However, your use of the gifts is quite disappointing."

"I think I want to take back what I said before. You do know something, don't you? About my past?"

"Perhaps I do. But there is no point in sharing such data if you cannot understand. Especially when you're using such abilities improperly."

"Try me," Cyrus said sternly. "Now spill it. What is it you know?"

The figure chuckled. "Not now, Mr. Splicer. Perhaps another time."

"Cyrus," Maria's voice called. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," he said calling back through the hall. "I'll be there in a second." When he turned back to where the mysterious figure stood, she was gone. There was no trace of her. _"I will learn about my past,"_ Cyrus thought to himself. _"I will not rest until I uncover it."_ With that decided, Cyrus left the room and joined with his comrades. They left Wonderland and transported the gummi ship, ready to visit another world.

* * *

Author's Note 1: _"This hooded woman does knows me somehow. But what does she mean by not using my skills correctly? And what does she know about my past?" _Will the group survive the perilous journey of Kingdom Hearts? Who will Cyrus and co. run into next? More to come, everyone. Read and review to find out more. 


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Author's Note 1: I apologize for the delay. The reason I'm late in this chapter was because my computer broke down on me. And aside from the fact that information was lost, I also had some work that I needed to do. To add to the situation, I suffering from allergies. This was the worst way to start February. But enough of that, let's continue with the story, shall we?

* * *

Part 3.1: The King of the Jungle

As the group traveled on their gummi ship, Sophia stared out the window. A look of concern was on her face as they soared through space. Most of the group couldn't help but to notice the young symbologist's depressed attitude. "I wonder what's wrong with Sophia?" Goofy asked.

"Who knows," Nel said. "Normally, Sophia is the liveliest of our party."

"I guess someone should go cheer her up," Sora said.

"Stand back, everyone," Cyrus said heartily. "As a shizznit, it be a crime to have a lady get all sob-like. Let me take care of it."

"Go ahead," Donald said.

Cyrus walked casually to Sophia, who was still staring out in space. The young shizznit cleared his throat and began to strike a conversation. "Yo, yo, Sophy," he replied.

"Huh?" a surprised Sophia said. "Oh, Cyrus. What are you doing?"

"Nothin' really. Just a little worried about ya. You sick or somethin'?"

"No, nothing like that… It's just… I'm worried about Fayt, and everyone else. They're out there all alone. If I was nearly beheaded, then there is no telling what they're going through."

"That's true, but we can't give in. Those guys are strong, and they know that help is on the way. Besides, if I know Fayt and the rest of those guys, I know that they can fend for themselves. Know what I mean?"

Sophia was silent as she contemplated everything that Cyrus told her. "I guess you're right," she said with a smile. "Besides, it won't be too long until we find everybody."

"That's the spirit! I promise we'll get them back safe and sound."

"Thank you, Cyrus."

"Anytime." Sophia walked away from the windows and took a seat.

"Cyrus," Maria called as she approached the teenager. "It seems that we've arrived at another world."

"Really? Well then, let's check this out." The two walked to the control console where Donald, Goofy. The ship orbited a world that was covered in lush green forest. A large tree house lay on top of the world while a waterfall flowed through the bottom.

"What a beautiful place," Nel said in awe. "We might be able to find a friend of ours down there."

"Maybe she's right," Goofy agreed. "Hey, perhaps King Mickey is down there too."

"On that backwater world?" Donald retorted. "I don't think so. Let's move on."

"Wait!" Sora yelped. "Maybe Riku and Kairi are down there. We have to go!"

"There's no time for that! We're on a serious mission!"

"Just land!" Sora ordered as he tinkered with the buttons.

"No way!" Donald shouted as he was trying to force the Keyblade wielder back.

"Let go!"

"Never!"

"We will land!" Sora replied as he was ready to push a large red button.

"Don't push that!" Donald advised. However, it was too late. "Noooooo!"

Sora had just pushed the button and Donald face was paralyzed in horror. "What did Sora do?" Maria asked.

"He pushed the big red button," Donald said as he slowly turned around toward the group.

"That's only supposed to be used in emergencies," Goofy asked.

"The big red button." Cyrus said flatly before he slapped his forehead. "Why is it always the big red button?"

"What is supposed to happen?" Nel asked.

"Well first, the engines go out," Donald explained. In a few seconds, the sounds of turbines from the engine room died. "Then the ship's power shuts down." As soon as he said that, the lights and systems turned off. "Thanks to Sora, now we have no control of the ship!"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Everyone, except Goofy, glared at Sora for an few minutes while sounds of crickets were heard. "Okay, so I'm partially responsible…"

"Partially?" Maria said under her breath.

"Okay, okay!" Sora said hastily

"Donald?" Goofy called.

"What is it now?" Donald shouted.

"How is this ship moving if no one is moving it?"

"Huh? What?" Just as Goofy said, the small vessel was quickly approaching the strange world. "It looks like we're going in for a crash landing!"

"Oh no!" Sophia said.

"That's just great," Cyrus replied.

"Hang on, everyone!" Sora said as the wayward ship began spiraling out of control.

"I told you not to press the big red button!" Donald shouted before Cyrus whited out.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself falling from the sky with Sora and Sophia. Knowing that the power of flight was futile, he joined his comrades in yelling for dear life. After a few seconds, the trio crashed through a roof of the tree house, hitting a few of the beams as they fell. "Ow… my head…" Sora said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Sophia, are you alright?" Cyrus asked.

"Yes, I think I'll be okay. But where's Nel and Maria?"

"Donald?" Sora called. "Goofy?"

"They shouldn't be too far," Cyrus said. Without warning, a large creature pounced off the top floor of the house and landed on the wooden floor. It was a muscular beast. It's eyes were bright yellow with the gleam of a man-eater. Its coat was covered in an array of spots. Its teeth were as sharp as knives.

"Is that-?" Sora asked before Sophia interrupted.

"A leopard," Sophia replied.

"Panthera pardus," Cyrus said. "It's time to shank ol' tabby. Let's show it how we do business." The group got into their battle positions as Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Forest Explodes" from The Lost World Jurassic Park game. The leopard made the first move. With its claws bared, the big cat was ready leap at Sophia. However, its attack was cancelled out by a strong Lightning Blast. The electric current zapped the feline in midair and hurled it back. The creature landed on its side from the assault, but it quickly recovered. As retribution, the carnivore gave a quick slash to Sophia that knocked her back. Cyrus and Sora quickly attacked the leopard, slashing at the enemy with their swords. However, the leopard blitzed through their double team and slashed at both warriors. Cyrus got up and made a string of hits, that sent the cat back. However, the leopard evaded the last swipe and charged full speed at him. The dark shizznit braced himself, but the force of the blow was too much and sent him falling back. Sophia used her Healing skill on herself and Sora while Cyrus healed himself with the same move. The big cat was ready to pounce on Sophia, but the three were able to finish it off with one powerful blow. As soon as it crashed to the ground, the battle ended.

"Is it…?" Sophia asked, still shaking from the fight.

Sora carefully approached the body of the leopard. Suddenly, the cat sprung back to life and roared at the team. The keyblade wielder was taken by surprise and fell back. Cyrus and Sophia were ready to aid their comrade, but they were too far to provide any service. Sora raised his keyblade up, ready to block the sharp fangs of the carnivore. The situation looked pretty grim. That was until, out of nowhere, a tall man with long hair and a loincloth landed between the combatants. The leopard's sharp jaws were locked on the man's spear and were gnawing to get through his defense. However, the next event surprised even Cyrus. A small figure landed from one of the beams and kicked the big cat square in the face before landing the ground. The enemy was thrown back a few feet from the hit and after a few minute showdown, retreated through a window. The new ally was a small boy, no bigger than three feet. His hair was red and his skin was tanned. He wore a striped vest and striped boots. His long, pointed ears were a distinguishing factor. Cyrus saw the child had a long, bushy tail that was striped, rocking back and forth. _"I knew it!"_ Cyrus thought to himself. As Sora struck a conversation with the man, Sophia and Cyrus decided to talk with the kid. "Well Roge, long time, no see," he said.

The child turned to the two and smiled. "Hey you two!" Roger said happily. "It's good to see ya."

"You too, Roger," Sophia said.

"So, who else came?"

"Well, we were here with Nel and Maria, but got separated," Cyrus answered. "There's no doubt that they landed here, but we have no idea where."

"How about you, Roger?" Sophia asked. "Did you come here with someone else?"

"Sorry, but I was the only one that got here," Roger said.

"Hey you guys," Sora said as he walked to the group with Tarzan, who walked on his knuckles, not too far behind. "Tarzan said that he might know where Riku and Kairi are." Sora then glanced at Roger below him. "Hey there, little guy," he greeted.

"Little?" Roger said in a fit. "I am not little! I'm vertically challenged."

"Yeah, sure."

"Sora, I would like you to meet Roger," Cyrus introduced. "Roger, this is Sora, our travelling compadre."

"Sora, huh?"

"Yep."

"Tarzan is it, you know where we can find them?" Sophia asked.

The jungle man gave a few hoots and grunts. Then he replied by saying, "Friends here."

"Do you know what he said?" Cyrus asked Sophia.

"Not a clue."

"It's not like we have any choice," Sora said. "He said he'll lead us to them."

"Well what are we standing around here for?" Cyrus said. The group nodded and followed Tarzan out the treehouse's door.

The party took the moment to survey the magnificent view of the jungle. "It's so lovely," Sophia said. There was nothing a see of treetops that stretched for miles on end. In the distance, small birds flew past them. It was a dazzling sight. "There aren't this many places that are as beautiful as this back on Earth."

"That's because after the nineteenth century, the value of lumber has become quite a commodity," Cyrus pointed out. "With the high demand on wood, the logging industry soared. However, there were only a handful of such pristine areas that were left the last time I checked or less. In fact, nearly a million acres of rainforest chopped down every year."

"Really?" Sora said. "That sounds terrible."

"More than you know."

"So Tarzan, where to?" Roger asked.

"Down there," he said.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked. "It looks like a long way down."

"Let's not talk about long ways down," Cyrus quipped.

"I told you guys, it was an accident."

Cyrus only shook his head at Sora's statement. "I'm sure it was. Just remind me not to let you near a control console." The shizznit turned his MP3 Player to "Deep Jungle" from Kingdom Hearts.

Tarzan jumped over the rail of the deck and slid on one of the beams below which supported a net. Roger quickly followed and both the jungle man and the Menodix fell in the jungle below. "Are we supposed to do that?" Sophia asked.

"Well, it's not like we have any choice," Cyrus said.

"Last one down's a rotten egg!" Sora said as he quickly leapt over the rail.

"I'm gonna make an omelet outta you, son!" Cyrus replied as he hastily went after him.

"Wait for me!" Sophia said as she reluctantly pursued them.

In a few minutes, the trio landed in a hidden tunnel. The place was covered in bushes and roots. The only exits were a path from the ledge above and a hollow log. "This way," Tarzan said as he jumped down the log. The four members shrugged, but followed.

They landed on a branch below of a massive tree, surfing on its limb. The team raced on the tree, shifting their weight in their turns and sliding faster. Cyrus rode his Abysmal Offender like a skateboard, balancing and steering on the weapon as well as making trick jumps. Though there were a few obstacles on the track, but it didn't slow the group down as the vegetation was cleared away with the Keyblade and lightsaber. In a few minutes, Tarzan led the group to their destination. It was a campsite hidden in a bamboo thicket. "Is this where they are?" Sora asked.

"Yes," Tarzan complied.

"I wonder why there is a camp here?" Cyrus asked.

Roger shrugged. "Something about researching," the Menodix simply replied.

The four followed Tarzan as he walked inside. The tent was quite large. In the shelter was a map of Africa, a few seats and a projector on legs. Near the entrance was a young woman with dark hair and green eyes that welcomed the travelers. "Tarzan! Roger!" she called.

"Jane!" said Tarzan.

"Hello, miss," Roger politely greeted.

"Are these friends of yours?" Jane asked.

"Hello, we're-" Sora began before being interrupted by Jane.

"Oh, I see that you speak English. Then it's clear that you are not at all related to Tarzan."

"Well, I see you guys are okay," a voice said.

The group looked behind them and saw Nel and Maria standing nonchalantly. "Nel, Maria," Cyrus called.

"Hey you two," Nel replied once more as she and Maria walked over to the party.

"It's good to see you guys," Maria said.

"What happened?" Sophia asked. "We were worried sick."

"Well, after the little 'accident', Nel and I were brought here thanks to Jane."

"She allowed us to stay for the time being," Nel said.

"Well, thank you so much," Sophia said and bowed.

"It was a pleasure," Jane said.

"Hello ladies," Roger said as he tried to use his "charm". "Missed me?"

The girls paused and had flat looks on their faces. "Not especially…" Nel said.

"I wonder," Jane pondered. "Are you all here to study the gorillas?"

"I doubt it," another person said in a rugged British voice. He walked in the tent holding a double barreled shotgun. The man wore tight pants and a yellow shirt. He had a cleft chin, a wide mouth and crewcut hair that was combed back. Trailing behind him were Donald and Goofy.

"It's Sora!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora yelped in glee as he held Donald's hands. As soon as the two looked at one another, the mage and the blade wielder looked away separately, still remembering their argument back at the gummi ship.

"I see that little escapade won't be forgotten," Cyrus said as he put his hands in the pockets of his trench coats.

"A band of clowns," the man said. "Not any use for hunting gorillas."

"Mr. Clayton!" Jane retorted. "How many times must I tell you that this is not a hunting trip. This is a research expedition for studying gorillas in their natural habitat."

"Of course. Silly me." He walked out the tent and returned to guard the campsite.

"Oh well, do make yourselves at home. After all, the more the merrier."

"Did you say gorillas?" Maria asked.

"That's right," Jane said. "Our reason for coming here is to learn more about these great apes in their natural habitat."

"What is a gorilla?" Nel asked.

"A gorilla is a large primate that lives in the jungles of Africa," Cyrus explained. "There are three different races. And judging by our location, I say you're searching for the Mountain Gorilla."

"That's right," Jane said. "We have already found evidence that they were here. It's only a matter of time before we could study a live one. However, it won't be easy."

"Why is that?" Sophia asked.

"Because the Mountain Gorilla, along with its kin, are one of the rarest animals in Africa," Cyrus said. "During this time and age, the gorilla has been seen as a powerful creature and a trophy for poachers. Also, the loss of jungle have taken a toll on the population."

"I see."

"That's why I came here. With enough information, there maybe a chance to preserve these magnificent creature so that they can live on in the years to come."

"Jane, can you tell us about Tarzan?" Sora asked. "He maybe able to help us find my friends."

"Throughout the years, Tarzan lived here in the jungle. He was brought up by the gorillas that are residents in this area. Unfortunately, even though he's learning English quite well, communication is still a little difficult."

"So you mean, he was talking in gorilla?"

"That's right," Roger said. The group turned to the Menodix who gave a small smirk. "Lucky for me, I understand what he's saying."

"Really?" Goofy asked.

"How can you speak gorilla?" Donald asked.

"I'm a Menodix. We have the ability to either understand what animals say, or control them. Of course, that's only for a few special people."

"You mean you got the lower end of the stick."

"Don't you have a pond to go to?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Anyway, Tarzan said that Riku and Kairi were here," Sora said, trying to change the subject. "He also mentioned a word I couldn't understand. Is there some way we can get him to speak more clearly?"

"There could be one way," Jane said. "I have some slides that I show Tarzan. We'll see if any of the pictures match the word he is trying to say." Jane began searching near the projector. "Where…? I thought they were here a few minutes ago…"

"Don't sweat it," Cyrus said. "We'll find them."

"Let's just do this quickly so that we can find the king and get out of here," Donald replied as he walked out the temp.

"Whatever," Sora said.

The group searched the camp for the slides for half an hour. The objects were located near boxes and other equipment. After their search, the group recovered six slides and handed them to Jane. Ms. Porter turned on the machine and began showing the slides. The first one not only startled Sora, but also made Cyrus turn his attention on the picture. "What's wrong, you two?" Donald asked.

"You guys looked like you've seen a ghost," Maria said.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked. "It's… it's nothing. Right, Cyrus?"

Cyrus was silent and mesmerized by the screen. _"Is that Hallow Bastion before it went under the control of them chumps?"_ he thought. _"But why? Why do I feel like I'm connected to it somehow? Is that castle part of my past?"_

"Cyrus?"

The young shizznit snapped back to reality and smiled. "Oh, don't worry. Just admiring the detail. Whoever made it was quite the artiste," he recovered.

"I'm sure that's all," Nel assured. "I do admit, this illustration is quite impressive."

Jane continued turning the slides. "Well, Tarzan?" she asked.

"Do you know where Riku and Kairi are?" Sora asked, waiting for a positive reply. To his dismay, however, Tarzan shook his head, signaling that their whereabouts were unknown to him. "But I you said…"

"Maybe they are here," Cyrus said.

"That's right," Goofy replied. "Maybe we overlooked one place."

"And there is only one part of this land that they could be," Clayton said as he walked into the tent. He turned to Sora and looked down upon him. "Young man, we have been godforsaken jungle for quite some time. If they were here, we would have known about it." Then a smirk came to his face. "However, there is but one area where they could possibly be at."

"And that area is?" Maria questioned.

"The gorilla's nesting grounds."

"Well then, why don't we go and search that area," Nel suggested.

"Unfortunately, that is impossible."

"Why do you say that?" Sophia asked.

"The only one that knows the way, young lady, is Tarzan. However, he refuses to take us to them."

"Mr. Clayton!" Jane replied. "You don't really think-!"

"Indeed I do, Ms. Porter. If Tarzan has nothing to hide, then he would take us to them!" He turned to Tarzan. "What do you say, old chap? Why don't you take us to the gorillas. Go-rill-as!"

Tarzan turns his focus on the members of the group and then to Sora. "I will," Tarzan said.

"Really!" Sora replied cheerfully.

"Are you sure about this, Tarzan?" Jane asked in concern.

"Yes. Tarzan go see Kerchak."

"Kerchak?" Sophia asked. "Who's that?"

"That sounds like the silverback," Cyrus replied. "Usually, the troop is led by a strong male gorilla with a silver patch on his back. His job consists of watching over the group and defending them and the territory from other silverback males and predators."

"Excellent," Clayton said with a pleased tone. "I shall escort you all to our destination. After all, the jungle is a very violent place," he said before a large smile grew on his mug.

"Well, please be careful, everyone," Jane said.

"Don't worry, m'lady," Roger replied. "This won't take to long. And besides, I'm with them, so they won't get into too much trouble."

"Come on, little homie," Cyrus said. "If we keep you here any longer, you're the one going to get into trouble yourself.

The group left the tent, except for Clayton who was getting his supplies. They waited for the hunter, until an unwelcomed guest ambushed the group. It was none other the leopard, Sabor. "What the-?" Donald replied as she pulled out her laser.

"Sabor!" Tarzan shouted.

"Dang!" Sora replied. "Not again."

"What is that thing?" Nel asked.

"A spotted coat of trouble," Cyrus said. "Sophia, Sora and I already had our fun. So we'll leave this one to you guys."

"Oh you shouldn't have," Maria sarcastically sneered. The team went into battle against the enemy. Sabor leapt at the team, nearly hitting Nel. Tarzan attacked with a powerful strike from his spear. The big cat retaliated with a quick and powerful slash that was blocked by a shield from Goofy. Donald attacked the enemy with a ball of fire, that landed a direct hit. Before he could strike with his wand, the leopard leapt out of the way, injuring the duck and the Menodix that was ready to attack. Nel used her Shockwave against the enemy and then combined it with a few quick strikes. Sabor was weakened and was ready to attack Maria. It jumped into the air and was about to pounce upon the blue-haired gunner. Maria pulled out her blaster and used Scatter Beam. Maria shot a number of lasers that made numerous hits on the big cat. As soon as it got hit, the foe slammed to the ground hard. The carnivore then rose back on all fours and ran out of camp.

It was at that moment that Clayton had casually walked out of the tent with his shotgun ready. "Are you all ready?" he asked. The group did nothing but look at the hunter with odd stares. "Well, come on, then. We have some gorillas to find."

"We're out here fending off a vicious beast, and he's telling us to hurry up," Nel said.

"Forget about him," Cyrus said. "From what it looks like, Van Pelt over here needs us as an escort more than the other way around."

"Okay Tarzan, show us to the gorillas," Sora said. Tarzan nodded with the Keyblade bearers plea. They left by using a path in the jungle, hoping to find the gorillas and rescue Riku and Kairi.

* * *

Author's Note 2: Sometimes, the answers for the future lie in the past. This statement is part of the theme in this story and my theory I posted in the forum. In Learning Curve of Kingdom Hearts Over Coffee and Tea, I theorized that some of the skills Sora learns, including attacks in KH2, were taught by another person that isn't shown in the game or manga (think of Musashi in his series or Lagi in Panzer Dragoon: Azel). Sora wields his Keyblade with amazing skill, but as they say, "with great power comes great responsibility" as well as "absolute power corrupts absolutely". In order to use such a weapon properly, the person in question may have shown him other moves with a weapon that is similar. These moves would be later used by Sora in about a year (that's when KH2 takes place), which would include his "Drive" ability. If anyone wants this feature in the story, post a reply.

* * *

Part 3.2: Ambush and Ambition

Ever since they left, Cyrus had been listening to "Primordial Forest" from the Lost World: Jurassic Park game. In about a few minutes, the group arrived in a lush freshwater lagoon. In the water, there were small patches of land and what seemed like large stones. On the other side of the body of water, there was a long vine that looked climbable. "Maybe we could use that vine over there," Sophia said.

"Tarzan, is that where the gorillas are?" Sora asked.

"Yes," he said. "We have to climb up there."

"Splendid," Clayton said. "Perhaps this savage-er, I mean, our dear friend, hasn't let us down." Suddenly, he saw a large, dark shape zipped past him from behind. "Would you excuse me. There is something, um… important that I must do." The hunter left the group in the direction that the form left.

"I'm sure there is," Cyrus said.

"I'm beginning to question Mr. Clayton?" Maria whispered with a hint of suspicion.

"I know what you mean. Whatever that dude's up to, it ain't right."

"Let's go, already," Donald replied. "All we have to do is jump on those rocks."

"That's what you think," Roger said as he pointed to one of the large stones. Beside it, bubbles appeared and another large object floated up to the surface. However, it proved to be a living creature. The object was a massive head small eyes, small ears, large nostrils and a wide mouth. "Think they're rocks now?"

"What is that?" Goofy asked.

"Hippopotamus amphibius," Cyrus said. "The larger of the two species of hippo and a distant aquatic cousin of the pig."

"How do you know this stuff?" Donald asked.

"I'm a young genius with a 198 IQ, homie. And I watched that National Geographic Channel special on the Seringetti before turning to BET on my free time."

"Okay…"

"They don't look so tough," Nel said.

"Careful. One bite from these can snap a croc in half. And it's a known fact that hippos kill more people in Africa than lions or sharks combined."

"When you say it like that…" a scarred Goofy said, hiding behind his shield.

"I'm not afraid," Sora replied. He jumped on the back of the large swine and leapt on the strip of land.

The group was baffled. "I thought you said hippos were dangerous?" Donald asked.

"They are," Cyrus answered. "It seems that these guys are basking in the sun to gather their energy."

"Well then let's hurry," Sophia said. The group raced across the pond, hopping from one hippo to the next and to a thin strip of land. However, there were a few times Donald slipped off the animals and into the water. Other than that, they all made it to the other side safely.

"That wasn't so hard," Goofy said.

"Easy for you to say, you big palooka," Donald said, still drenched in water.

"I hope everyone knows how to climb," Cyrus said as he tugged on the vine.

"I was one of the best at gym class," Sophia said.

"You don't have to worry about me," Sora replied.

"Excellent," Cyrus stated. "Goin' up…" The party climbed up the vine and into the trees above. The team found themselves ninety feet above the lagoon with a sea of vines draped in front of them.

On a branch above them was a big silverback accompanied by a smaller brown female. "Is that…?" Sophia asked.

"That's right," Cyrus said. "Even I'm at awe. I knew they was big, but that one's huge."

Tarzan began grunting to the male gorilla. However, the group could not understand a word he was saying. "Any clue on what he's saying?" Goofy asked.

"Nope," Donald replied.

"I know what he's saying?" Roger said.

"Alright, Roger," Sora said. "What are they talking about?"

"Tarzan is asking Kerchak to help us find your friends. But it doesn't look like the big ape's sayin' anything."

"Why is that?"

"Beats me."

After Tarzan made his speech, Kerchak looked as though he was tense. Both great apes left the scene, heading for a different area of the jungle. Tarzan was disappointed that the gorilla wouldn't cooperate. "Gwarsh," Goofy said. "Looked like he was distracted by somethin'."

"The direction the silverback faced... Isn't that where the wooden hizzouse is at?" Cyrus asked.

"The what?" Donald asked.

"He means the tree house," Sophia clarified.

"Tarzan, is there a shortcut?" Roger asked.

"Yes. This way." Tarzan said. The group climbed up a vine to the top of the tree. Tarzan led the group to a passage which sent them back to the tree house.

When they arrived, Sora saw a large figure at the entrance of the house. "Is that..?"

"Clayton!" Donald yelped. The hunter already had his gun aimed at a target: a young gorilla.

"Let's go!" Maria said. Donald was already ahead of the team. The rest of the group were right behind him. At the doorway, Clayton had the ape in his sights and was ready to pull the trigger. That was until the duck squawked his loudest, causing the hunter to loose his concentration and miss the primate. The gorilla was able to dodge the shot and climbed to the top floor where the silverback, Kerchak, entered.

"What's you problem?" Donald scolded Clayton.

"How could you do such a thing?" shouted Nel.

Tarzan stepped forward and began hooting. "Er, translation?" Sora asked Roger.

"He's giving an apology but it doesn't look like Kerchak's buying it."

The silent male left the house. The smaller gorilla also exited the house after saying a silent goodbye to Donald. The group silently stared at Clayton who was still sitting on the ground. "Okay, let me explain. There was… A snake! A very big one, that was about to harm that poor gorilla. I saved its life, you see."

Tarzan shook his head in disbelief. "Let's ghost," Cyrus suggested. "There's no point in staying here."

"He's right," Sophia agreed. "We'll go back to camp and work on a plan there."

"In the meantime," Cyrus said as he turned to Clayton, "I'd best make a good excuse for you and your Dimple-ator."

"My what?" Clayton said in confusion.

"The big gun, ya punk!"

The team trekked back to the camp. At that time, Cyrus was listening to "Guerillas in da Mist" by Da Lench Mob. The trip time was shortened with the shortcut through the use of a certain limb that they slid on. When they arrived at the campsite, the group faced against Sabor. However, with the combined skill of Roger, Tarzan and Goofy, the leopard was beaten once more and high-tailed it out of the area. The party went inside the tent and gave Jane the details on Clayton's hunt. "You were going to shoot at a gorilla?" a furious Jane yelled. "How could you!"

"Please, Miss Porter, please," Clayton begged. "Like I said, my target was not the gorilla."

"That's it. From now on, you will not, and I repeat, will not, go near the gorillas again!"

"Just because of a small mishap? But…" Clayton stopped in mid-sentence. All he could see in front of him were angry scowls from the group, including Jane and Tarzan. The tent was also filled with an unsettling silence. The hunter took this as his cue to leave the tent.

"I can't help but to feel some responsibility," Jane said. "How could I have not known this would happen?"

"Jane," Tarzan said as he walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. "It is not your fault."

"He's right," Sora agreed. "It's no one's fault. Clayton had his own plans."

"Correct," Nel said. "He did this on his own accord."

"Besides, sooner or later, he'll get what's coming to him," Cyrus said. Suddenly, the conversation was stopped when a shot echoed throughout the campsite.

"Was that Clayton?" Goofy asked with his hands over his ears.

"No doubt it was," Roger replied.

"Let's go," Cyrus said. Everyone left the tent and arrived outside.

Near the passage to the bamboo thicket, the team saw a mob of Powerwilds harassing a female gorilla. They appeared to be monkeys that were dark blue in color and had a crossed heart insignia patched on their bellies. "What are those things!" Roger shouted.

"Heartless!" shouted Sora.

"This is no time to monkey around," Cyrus replied.

"Let's get 'em," Donald yelped.

The group rushed to the rescue. Sora, Donald and Goofy charged into battle against the enemies. The monkey-like heartless headed toward the trio just as they were rushing toward them. One of the Powerwilds slid Sora, but the Keyblade wielder leapt over the attack. As soon as he landed, Sora slashed the enemy with a chain of blows that destroyed the foe. Another was about to attack from behind with quick slashes, but Goofy charged into it shield first. Donald used his ice magic, firing a large ball of ice at the Heartless to weaken the foe, and then he whacked the target with his staff. From above, a Powerwild jumped toward the duck and used a volley of swift strikes, but Sora interceded and pulled off a string of midair combos. The last Heartless was destroyed by a powerful fire ball from Donald. The gorilla, who came out of hiding walked over to the trio. She gave Sora a gummi block and left the campsite. "Hey look," Goofy said. "Another gummi block."

"It's just like the one from before," Donald said. "The king must have been here."

"At the moment, it looks like the only ones that are here are the Heartless," Sora said.

"We'll need to split up," Nel replied.

"Okay!" Cyrus said. "Nel, Cyrus, Roger, and I will take this area. Sora, you and Tarzan shall lead the rest in the jungle."

"Let's bounce!" Cyrus said before turning his MP3 Player to "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns and Roses. The group parted ways. When Cyrus and his group entered the bamboo thicket, an area surrounded by tall stalks of bamboo and a small hill in the center. The team found another gorilla under siege against a few Heartless. The four charged into battle and the gorilla fled the scene. Cyrus slashed at one of the Powerwild with the Abysmal Offender and then blocked the attack of another. He countered with a spinning slash that decimated both foes. Roger spun toward his foe, chopping it with his axe in each revolution. Then he activated his Fiery Axe. After heating his axe, he leapt up in the air and slammed blade first into the ground. A large explosion engulfed a few of the simian imposters, weakening them greatly. The survivors were picked off by laser shots from Maria's blaster. From behind, a Powerwild was sliding toward her, but Maria black flipped and landed behind her assailant. The Quark captain kicked the enemy hard and used Aiming Device. Her foe was finished off. Nel slashed at two Powerwilds that were approaching in for an attack. With quick strikes from her blades, the opposition was defeated and the battle ended. The gorilla that was harassed came over to Cyrus and gave him another gummi block before it left.

"There's another area," Roger said. "Over here." The Menodix led the group to a cliff. This area was different from the rest of the jungle, with rock walls and small shrubs. Once again, another gorilla was being victimized by a small group of Powerwilds. When the Heartless saw the group, they turned their attention to the four. The gorilla took this chance to climb high on the rock wall. Cyrus led the party against the enemies. He fired a small fireball that made a direct hit at one of the foes, then he followed it up with strong slashes. One Powerwild hit Cyrus with a flurry of quick strikes from its sharp paws. Before it could attack again, Nel had already slammed by hurling her body straight at the foe. Roger dodged a baseball slide from his enemy by leaping to the side. Before the Heartless could attack again, the boy pulled use Whirling Heat. He pulled out an electromagnetic whip which wrapped around the Powerwild's leg. Then he pulled back hard, making the enemy spin a few times. The foe was dazed and was unable to focus on Roger. The Menodix leapt a few feet off the ground before diving straight at the Heartless with his axe. Maria shot two Heartless that were ready to strike with her Scatter Beam. Another was ready to attack from behind, but Maria leapt back to avoid the attack. While in the air, she shot at the airborne enemy square in the head. She then somersaulted until she was behind the remaining two enemies and then shot at them with her blaster. The fight was over and the gorilla climbed down from the bluff and handed over another gummi block before retreating.

"That wasn't so tough," Nel said as she withdrew her daggers.

"Let's go back to camp." Sophia suggested. "I think the others will return shortly."

"Better than stayin' here," Cyrus said. The four left the area and headed back for camp. After a few minutes of waiting, Sora and his team returned without a scratch. "What up, dogs. Find anything?"

"Yeah," Goofy said. "The Heartless are all over the place."

"They're after the gorillas," Sophia said.

"Are they alright?" Nel asked.

"Gorillas safe," Tarzan said. "Back to nesting grounds."

"What a relief," Roger said.

"We also found s few more gummi blocks," Donald added.

"Really? So did we," Cyrus said as he handed them to Sora.

"I wonder what this means?" Sora asked.

"Perhaps someone was here," Donald said.

"You said that the Heartless you encountered were on the gorillas, right?" Cyrus asked.

"That's right," Sora said.

"We too had faced that same situation."

"What do you think that means?"

"There's must be a pattern," Maria said. "Think about it. Every time we face the Heartless, there's a gorilla in danger. There must be a connection?"

"She's right," Donald agreed.

"But what would the Heartless want with the gorillas?" Sophia wondered.

"I think we'll learn later," Cyrus said. "Let's just get inside." The group went inside the tent and told Jane the situation.

"So these Heartless are after the gorillas?" Jane asked.

"That's right," Donald said. "But we don't know why."

"I see… Have any of you seen Clayton? He has been missing ever since you separated."

"No, we haven't," Sora said.

"No clue," Cyrus said.

"I do hope he is not in any harm…" Jane said. In a few seconds, a loud gunshot echoed throughout the campsite. "What was that?"

"I think that came from the thicket!" Roger said.

"Let's go!" Maria replied. The group stormed out of the tent and left the campsite.

* * *

Part 3.3: The Hunt, the Hunter, and the Hunted

When they arrived at the thicket, the group found Clayton's pipe on the small hill at the center of the area.

"Isn't that Clayton's?" Sophia asked. "What is it doing here?"

But before anyone could answer the group was ambushed once again by Sabor. The leopard was ready to fight to the end. Cyrus, Tarzan, Sora, and Roger got into battle position. Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Hunt 2" from Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis. The leopard charge at Sora, slashing with its sharp claws. The Keyblade wielder was knocked back from the blow and was susceptible to an attack. However, Tarzan got in between the two and attacked with a powerful slash from his spear. The leopard suffered some damage, but not before striking at the jungle man. Cyrus, with his Darkness Blade, went to the aid of his comrades, pulling off a string of blows that threw the leopard back. It looked like the big cat was lost, but it got back up and charged in the bamboo walls. "Where did he go?" Roger replied. The four fighters stayed on their guard, surveying their surroundings. Then, Sabor landed right behind Cyrus. Before the shizznit could attack, the carnivore had already struck. Roger used his Land Mines. He scattered a few small explosives throughout the area. The enemy stalked the Menodix, ready to strike, that was until the cat stepped on one of the devices, causing it to explode. This set off a chain reaction, setting off and blowing up the other devices. Sabor was thrown in midair and was vulnerable. Sora used this as an opportunity to finish off the leopard. After a few powerful slashes, the enemy was thrown back and rebounded on the ground. The four inched their way to the leopard only to discover a lifeless body. The battle was over. "We did it!" Roger shouted triumphantly.

Tarzan went to Sabor's body and pulled out one of the leopard's canines. "Sora," he said. "Take this."

"Really?" Sora asked. Tarzan nodded and handed the white fang to Sora. "Thank you," he said as he put the tooth in his pocket. "Now, let's get to the tent." The group went back to the campsite where they found a large number of Shadows, Powerwilds, and their feminine counterparts, Bouncywilds. However, the Heartless were no match against the group. They stepped into the camp, ready to tell Jane what they found, only to find that she wasn't there. "Hey, where did Jane go?" Sora asked.

"Why would she leave?" Cyrus asked. "It's dangerous if you ain't prepared."

In the corner of the tent, Goofy saw Tarzan studying small traces. "Is something wrong, Tarzan," the knight asked.

"Something coming," he said. "Jane, danger. Near… Near tree house."

"We have no time to loose," Nel said.

The group left the tent and headed back to the jungle they arrived back in the canopy of the tree where they found Jane. Unfortunately, she, and the same gorilla they saved from Clayton, were caged in one of the passageways. "Tarzan!" a scarred Jane cried.

"Jane!" Tarzan called back.

"Don't worry!" Maria said. "We'll get you out!"

On the tree's trunk was a giant black fruit. "Now when was the last time you saw a black fruit, especially one so big?" Cyrus said.

"Never happened," Donald said.

"Cover me," Sora said.

"Gotcha!" Cyrus complied. As Sora went after the fruit, the rest of the team fended off the enemy Heartless. After a few minutes, Sora destroyed the fruit and the barrier that trapped Jane and the gorilla withered away.

"Are you okay?" Roger asked.

"I'll be fine," Jane said.

"What happened?" Donald asked.

"All I can remember is… Clayton came, and… Everything else is a blank."

"Clayton!" Sophia replied in shock.

The gorilla that was with Jane hooted to Tarzan. "Gorillas trapped at cliff. Terk ran for help."

"The cliff?" Goofy said.

"Of course!" Cyrus replied. "The Heartless were hunting the gorillas. They must have been in cohoots with Clayton the whole time."

"We were just there," Roger replied.

"Please, save the gorillas," Jane said.

"Don't worry," Cyrus said. "We'll stop him. Let's jet." The group rushed back to the camp and into the thicket. The party encountered Heartless once more, but were able to take care of them quickly.

They proceeded to the cliff and found a small group of Heartless and Clayton ready to squeeze the trigger. "Stop!" Sora shouted. The hunter lowered his shotgun and stared at the team. It seemed as though he was in some sort of trance.

"Clayton?" Cyrus replied.

"Not Clayton!" Tarzan replied and hooted. "Not Clayton!" The gorillas escaped and Clayton climbed up the rock wall. The team destroyed the enemy Heartless and dodged most of the hunters shots, but not without getting hit by the monkey-like foes a few times. Cyrus and Sora teamed up against Clayton, striking with powerful slashes. The battle was over in about twenty minutes. Clayton rose up and aimed his shotgun at the group. Before he pulled the trigger, held his gun up, as if he was waiting for something. Suddenly, the forward wall, the barrier he stood behind, crumbled to pieces. It was clear that there was another entity. An invisible one at that. Tarzan rushed at the unseen enemy, but was swatted back and landed hard on the ground.

"What's going on!" Roger said.

Clayton was then floating up into the air and seemed to be riding on the foe "Just great," Maria said as she readied her gun.

Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Rumbling of the Earth" from Baten Kaitos before charging into battle. Even though no one could see the enemy, they knew that the enemy was wherever Clayton floated. The team slashed and shot at the foe mercilessly. In a few minutes, the cloak of the enemy had been compromised and was revealed to be a giant, bipedal green chameleon with the Heartless emblem on its chest. "What a hideous creature," Nel said.

"Stealth Sneak," Cyrus replied. "Even without their invisibility, they're still tough." The shizznit activated his Blazing Sword and returned to the battle. The Heartless was powerful indeed, as well as quick. Roger was ready to use his Fiery Axe, but the Stealth Sneak leapt behind the Menodix, kicking him with its back legs. The group were approaching the enemy, but were shot by Clayton's gun. The Heartless charged at the party with its horn. The team dodged the attack and the Stealth Sneak was stuck in the rock wall. However, they weren't able to evade some of Clayton's shots.

"We need to get Clayton off that thing!" Donald replied.

"Now that the Heartless is stuck, let's give it to 'em good," Cyrus said. The team slashed at the trapped enemy, while avoiding the gunshots from Clayton. After a powerful Aiming Device from Maria, the Stealth Sneak forced its horn out of the rock. At the same time, Clayton was knocked off his stead. The hunter got up and began shooting at the team. As Sora, Goofy, Tarzan, and Roger took care of Clayton, Cyrus and the rest of the team focused on the Heartless. With powerful strikes and blasts, the chameleon crashed to the ground. It looked like the Heartless was finished, until it sprung back to life and began attacking the team once more. Nel was ready to use her midair attack, but the enemy shot two beams of light from its eyes straight at the Crimson Blade spy. Sophia aided the team with her Healing technique, but she too was hit by a blast. Cyrus quickly got up close to the large lizard and struck with the still burning Abysmal Offender. The strike made a large slash in the midsection. Before he could follow up with the attack, Cyrus was thrown back. The Stealth Sneak was about to capitalize, but Maria used her Scatter Beam. The Heartless turned its attention to the Quark leader and Donald, who was also attacking the enemy. Cyrus saw his comrades getting attacked. _"I know that it would be smarter to attack Clayton,"_ he thought. _"However, something's telling me to attack the Stealth Sneak."_ The shizznit did not notice that the Abysmal Offender was emitting in a red and blue light. He followed his instinct, once again focusing on the Heartless. The enemy saw Cyrus coming and quickly began to kick. However, he dodged the attack by rolling under it. Cyrus jumped back up and with enough force, stabbed the Stealth Sneak straight in the wound. The creature screeched in pain as the sword began absorbing its energy. Cyrus could feel his health return. Cyrus pulled his sword out from the Heartless and back flipped. While in midair, he kicked the enemy under its lower jaw, hard enough for it to stagger back to where it entered and fall on the ground. Sora and his team had also defeated Clayton, throwing the hunter in front of the Stealth Sneak. The hunter stood back up and was focusing his aim. At the same time, the mortally wounded Heartless was trying to rise to its feet. As it did, its body was becoming unstable, becoming invisible and visible and producing currents of darkness. Clayton looked at the creature with a nervous face. Before he could move out of the way, the Stealth Sneak's body landed on Clayton. The remains of both the Stealth Sneak and Clayton disappeared as a large heart was released from the body of the Heartless.

"Well, that takes care of him," Roger said.

"A crushing demise at the hands of a large lizard," Cyrus said with fake remorse while shaking his head. "That's… That's a pretty sad way to go."

Behind the group, the party was greeted by the group of gorilla. Walking towards them, was the silverback, Kerchak. He put his hand on Sora's shoulder and lifted him. He then hurled the Keyblade wielder in the air. "Is he really going to…?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah, he is," Nel said. The rest of the group shortly followed Sora. After being thrown into the air, the group landed on a the cliff that overlooked a lake fed by a thundering waterfall.

"Wow!" Sora said staring at the scenery.

"Sure is beautiful," Goofy replied.

"Beautiful?" Cyrus said in amazement. "No, dog. This is off the hizzle!"

"Where are we?" Sophia asked. "What is this place?"

"This place," Tarzan said as he climbed to the ledge. "Tarzan, home."

"So what do we do now?" Nel asked.

"Come. This way." Tarzan led the group to the waterfall's cavern The inside was damp and filled with stone ledges. The group jumped on the ledges of the cave and climbed on the ivory. In under half an hour, the team arrived at an unknown area of the cave. It was a large chamber with a strange glow emanating in front of the group with blue butterflies gathered at the spot. From behind them, Jane and the

Tarzan hooted to the group. "Roger?" Sora said.

"He said that this is his home."

"This is it? Then that means…" Before Cyrus could finish, Tarzan signaled everyone to be silent. The group listened and heard the roar of the waterfall.

"Amazing…" Jane said. "They're echoing all the way back here."

Tarzan once again hooted. "Friends, here. See friends."

"I get it. What Tarzan said means heart. Friends in our hearts."

"Heart…"

"That's exactly what he said, miss," Roger replied.

"So that's what he meant," Sophia said.

"Friends, same heart," Tarzan said. "Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends."

"Um… Sorry about earlier, Donald," Sora apologized. 

"I'm sorry also."

"Hey," Goofy said as he put his hands on his comrade's shoulders. "All for one and one for all, right."

"Exactly," Maria said. "We're in this together."

The light intensified and most of the butterflies left the scene. Appearing at the center of the wall was a small Keyhole just like the one seen in Wonderland. Sora pointed the Keyblade at the hole. As soon as it charged up, the Keyblade shot a narrow beam of light at the hole. Afterwards, the hole disappeared and was nothing more than a patch on the wall. At the same time, another gummi block fell to the ground. "A gummi," Donald said.

"But it isn't the king's," Goofy said.

The gorilla walked toward Donald and brushed off him affectionately. Nel giggled. "It looks like she likes you," the spy said.

"No, no, no, no!" Donald said as he waved his hands. "Daisy would kill me." Everyone in the room laughed at Donald's remark and left the area except for Cyrus and Goofy.

"Cyrus, are you coming?" Goofy asked.

"Oh yeah, give me a second," Cyrus said.

"Well, okay. We'll be at the camp."

"It won't take too long." Goofy left scene. As soon as he did, Cyrus felt the presence of someone else. "Alright, show yourself," he said before he turned around.

Appearing from the shadows was the same hooded young woman. "I see that you are improving," she said.

"Improving? What do you mean?"

"Let me clarify. Do you remember that picture of the castle?"

"What about it."

"I will let you in on a little secret. That was Hallow Bastion before the invasion of the Heartless. And what's more is that you are learning your true abilities, not just the ones limited by Diogo."

"You know my master?"

"In some way, yes. I must say, you are making good strides to learn about your history. This is something that my superiors didn't expect."

"What is my history you're going on about? Who are these superiors? How do I know that this isn't a lie? A trick set up by Lystara?"

"I'm sorry you need to ask all these questions, Cyrus. But tell me, do you think that your 'real' dimension was your actual home?"

"Of course it is!"

"I feel sorry for you, Mr. Splicer. I really do. Even with your intellect, you know nothing about yourself."

"Then tell me."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"Then why are you interested in me?"

"Simple. Because you and I are bonded." As soon as Cyrus said that, he stood still and silent. "Your past is part of mine. Just as mine is a part of yours."

"You mean… you're my sister or cousin?"

"No, not like a relative at all. But to me, it is close."

"So tell me who you are?"

The girl shook her head. "Not now."

"Wait! Before you leave, tell me what you meant about my abilities."

"I don't need to. Just take a look at your left arm."

Cyrus looked at the woman in confusion. When he raised the limb, he discovered that the everything from his hand up to his elbow, including his sleeve, disappeared. He turned his focus back to his arm to see it had returned to normal. _"What was that?"_ he thought to himself. _"Well, there is no point in staying here. Time to go back."_ Cyrus left the waterfall caverns. After hiking for about a few minutes, he returned to the campsite. Cyrus saw that Roger changed back to his normal clothing and that the team was ready to leave. "Hey!" he said.

"So, are you finish with whatever you were doing in that cave?" Donald asked.

"Sure, sure."

"Well, I guess we better be leaving," Roger said.

"Where is your ship anyway?" Jane asked.

"Not too far, to say the least," Sophia said.

"Sora, Tarzan, friends," Tarzan said as he gave Sora a strange new keychain called the Jungle King.

"Thank you," Sora said. The group left the camp, and with Roger in their party, transported to the gummi ship. "Hey, that gummi block that fell out the hole isn't like the others," he said to his comrades. "Does anyone know what it's used for?"

"You think Leon'll know?" Goofy asked.

"So, then we're going to Traverse Town?" Donald asked.

"Not now," Cyrus said.

"Why not?" Nel asked. "Wouldn't it be better if we went there?"

"Maybe, but there are a couple more worlds we need to visit. There's a chance we'll find our comrades, Sora friends, and the King. We should go to those places first, then we can return to Traverse Town."

"Okay!" Sora said. "I'll be pilot!"

"No!" Donald screamed. "Stop it!"

"Hey, I'm the Keyblade master!"

"I don't care who you are!"

"Move over, you two!" Roger said. "Let me show you how a real man drives."

"No way!" As the three fought for control of the vessel, the ship began moving from one side to the other.

"Here we go again…" Goofy said.

"Oh Apris, please help us," Nel prayed.

"This is going to be a long trip to wherever we're going…" Cyrus said. "But let's hope no one presses the big red button, eh?"


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4.1: The Hero's Rite 

After a few minutes of deciding who would pilot, Donald reclaimed his position. Throughout the trip, Cyrus was downstairs contemplated on the conversation he had with the young woman in Tarzan's world. _"I still don't understand,"_ he thought to himself. _"What happened at Hallow Bastion that has something to do with me? And my abilities. I don't understand what she means by them developing. Does this have to do with what happened in the cave?"_ Cyrus once again took a look at his left arm. _"It turned invisible. I know it did! But how? Wait, did I somehow absorb that Stealth Sneak's abilities? How are she and I are connected? She says that her past and mine are intertwined. But why?"_

"What are you thinking about, Cyrus?" Maria asked as he walked over toward him.

"Er… Nothin'," he said nonchalantly. "Just thinkin' of our predicament. Whatever this door is that everyone's talking about is intense. This phenomenon has caused a flux in the dimensional barrier of subspace. I'm so psyched about this!"

"Glad you're enjoying this."

"Oh, you know you are, too."

Maria shook her head. "I wonder what's happened to Elicoor II?"

"Good question. When we last left it, those Heartless were just starting to multiply. I have studied the reproduction of Heartless and invasion of regular life-supporting planets yesterday. Every few minutes, around a few hundred Heartless are spawned. In order for them to invade an area the size of a continent, it could take around a few days. We did witness such a thing back in the jungle, remember?"

"That's right. The Heartless were starting to populate. If we weren't there, the world would have been destroyed."

Cyrus nodded. "At a normal rate, if the Heartless continue to wage siege to Elicoor, the world will be their's in a week. From what Sora told us back in Traverse Town, there will be nothing left once it's acquired."

"But you said in a week, didn't you? Sora's vanished in less time."

"Yes, but that's wasn't a regular circumstance. I meant something that would temporarily control the numbers like combat."

"Then what caused Sora's world to collapse so quickly?"

"Perhaps there wasn't much competition. The Heartless feed off of people's hearts, correct? With a plentiful supply and a hardly any interference, the number multiplied. But that's just one theory. Or perhaps it was because of the Keyblade."

"That could be it. Didn't Leon say that the Heartless would attack whoever wielded the Keyblade?"

"Yes. The Heartless do fear it. The question is why?"

"Could it be because of its reaction to the keyholes?"

"That could be it. Every time we come across them, the keyblade 'locks' it. I wonder what purpose that effect has? You know, Donald told me something earlier. He said that the Heartless are targeting certain people. Could this mean somebody is pulling the strings in this puppet show?"

"Then I guess we need to find them and whoever the Heartless are attacking."

"Unfortunately, we don't have that much to go on. But I have a feeling it will come sooner than we expect."

On the speakerphone, Donald sent a message. "Attention all personnel!" he said. "We are now ready to disembark on a new world!"

"Wow," Roger said as he walked up to Maria and Cyrus. "I thought his voice was irritating in person."

"I heard that!" shouted the mage in frustration. The three joined the rest of the party upstairs in the cockpit. Outside the ship, they saw the new world. It was a large building settled on a cloud.

"I wonder what that place is?"

"Well, let's dock this ship and check it out," Cyrus said. The team landed their ship outside the establishment and entered the through the front gates. The group was in awe as they saw how large it was.

"This place is huge…" Sora said.

"Aren't those gladiators?" Sophia asked as she looked at the statues on each side on the gate.

"That's right. A group of warriors that fought in ancient Rome and Greece. They were actually slaves for wealthy aristocrats and were trained at an early age. They were pitted in arenas and would fight to the death in order to achieve victory."

"That's tough," Sora said.

"I wonder what that sign says," Roger said.

The group walked over to the sign that was in front of the building. "Let's see…" Nel read. "'Olympus Coliseum: where heroes from all around compete. Join the games and see if you have what it takes.'"

"So, I see you guys made it," a kind feminine voice said behind them.

"It is good to see some familiar faces in this strange scene," a younger, refined voice replied. The group turned around and saw two people. One was a blonde woman with a short vest and heavy shorts with stocky boots. The other was a boy of Asian decent no older than Cyrus and Sora. He wore black eyeglasses, a yellow bandanna, a blue blazer, and red baggy pants.

"Yo, my main brother, Lude!" Cyrus said as he approached the two. "What's happenin', son!" The two hit the tops of one another's fists before pounding them into one another. Then they pulled themselves forward and crossing their arms.

"It's good to see you, captain," the blonde woman said to Maria.

"You too, Mirage."

"Um…" was the only thing Sora could say as he stared at the Klausian woman.

Mirage walked over to him leaned down to his level. "Is there something wrong?" she asked. "You don't look so good."

"Er… It's nothing, really, miss…"

Donald cleared his throat. "Could someone please tell me who these two are?"

"Hold your horses!" Roger replied. "The guy over there is Lude. He started his own dojo in Arias and is a good friend of Cyrus."

"I am humbled by your acquaintance," Lude said.

"And the gorgeous woman is Mirage. She is not only Maria's teacher, but she happens to run some of the stuff on the Diplo."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Mirage said. "I think we'll get along fine."

"Well, I'm Sora. These guys are Goofy and Donald."

"Hello," Goofy said.

"Nice to meet you," Donald said.

"Why don't we go inside," Lude suggested.

"Okay, then," Sora said. "Let's go ahead and sign up." The party went inside the building, eager to enlist in the event. The lobby was small and cooler than outside. On a small pillar was a small being with hoofed feet and a round upper body arranging the sign. "Hi…" Sora said before the figure began.

"Perfect timing," it said. "Since you're here, how about you move that block over there."

The group looked over to the right of the room and saw the large obstacle. "We don't have time for this!" Donald replied.

"Come on. It's only a second." Sora walked over to the object and pushed. "However, the concrete block wouldn't budge. "Man… This is harder… than I thought…" Lude, Nel, Cyrus, and Goofy assisted the Keyblader. However, there efforts were still in vain. The block weighed too much and their attempt to move it failed.

"This is ludicrous!" Lude shouted.

"This thing is pretty heavy," Goofy said.

"This thing is heavier than Crossell," Nel replied.

"Move this?" Cyrus yelped. "The thing ain't even budging!"

"Hey, this thing is too heavy!" Sora replied.

"What?" the small person said. "How is it too heavy? Since when were you-?" He stopped as soon as he turned around and saw Sora. "Oh, wrong guy."

"Amazing," Lude said as he adjusted his sunglasses. "An actual satyr."

"What's that?" Goofy asked.

"What do you think?" the satyr said. "Half man, half goat. What, this is the first time you've seen one?"

The group stood dumbfounded. "That's a trick question, right?" Cyrus quipped.

"Look, what are you guys doin' here? I'm busy getting this place ready for the big games. And it's heroes only! Didn't you ready the sign up front?"

"That's the reason why we're here, Mr…" Mirage said.

"It's Phil. And you, competing in the games? You ain't no heroes!"

"Ha!" Donald retorted. "You have heroes standing right in front of you!"

"That's right," Goofy said. "Sora here was chosen by the Keyblade."

"And we're heroes, ourselves," Roger said.

"You? Heroes?" At that moment, Phil exploded in laughter. "That's a good one."

"I don't think this is going well," Sophia said.

"No kidding," Maria replied.

"Why ain't you believin' us, ungulate?" Cyrus said with folded arms. "We're the real deal, yo."

"Look, it's nothing personal," Phil said. "It's just that this here is the world famous coliseum. People come here to watch heroes prove their strength and fight vicious monsters."

"Forgive me for interjecting, but we have fought our fair share of abominations," Lude said.

"And Mirage is currently our strongest member," Nel said.

"Yeah, sure," Phil replied. The satyr walked over to the block and began pushing. "If you guys… can't even… move this… rock…" Cyrus, Lude, Donald, and Sora were trying to hold straight faces while fighting back the urge to sneer. Roger was already snickering. After using all of his strength, Phil slid down to catch a breath.

"You were saying?" Maria replied.

"Okay, maybe it takes a more than just brawn."

"Straight diggy," Cyrus replied as he made quick punching and blocking motions. "It also takes the quickness and slick moves."

"There's that. You know, I have an idea. If you guys think you're so good, let's see what you got."

The group was silent. "What do you mean?" Mirage asked.

"Simple. I'll put you guys on a trial!"

"Huh?" was the only reply Sora could make.

"A trial, huh?" Lude said.

"This should be entertaining," Cyrus replied with a smile.

"Fine," Nel said. "Lead the way."

"Step right up," Phil said. Philocetes lead to team outside to the stadium. The group could not believe how huge it was. Even Cyrus and Lude were taken aback. The arena was larger than it was seen in the game, looking more like a Roman stadium. On the floor where battles were normally held, there were barrels throughout the area. In the center, the battlefield was elevated with large stone pillars and more barrels. _"I gotta learn that everythin's not what it seems like in the game,"_ Cyrus thought to himself.

"Welcome to the training field. The rules are simple, you two will go around and break all twenty-nine of these barrels in ninety seconds. But there's a catch. You gotta rely not only on speed and brawn, but brains too. Think you're ready?" he said pointing to Cyrus and Sora.

"Why us?" Sora asked.

"Yeah." Cyrus added.

"Two words: Because You Think You're Heroes."

"Two words?" Goofy questioned as he scratched his head. "That was… five!" the guard said holding up all four fingers and a thumb.

"If you guys can finish this course, than I might consider to let you guys compete."

"Great, tested by a sheep," Cyrus said under his breath. "So, you ready, homes?"

"You bet! Let's go!"

"Good, perhaps you could learn a few tricks from me."

"Right," Sora whirred. "I'm sure, I will."

"On your marks…" Phil said. "Get set… GO!"

With the Keyblade and lightsaber ready, the two raced to the obstacle course. Cyrus listened to "Lethal Highway" from Shadow the Hedgehog. The duo managed to break through the first three barrels in no time. The took a left and went around the corner, while going through a crowd of wooden planks painted to look like people that moved left and right on tracks. They did this, breaking thirteen targets, before jumping up on the right side of the platform. "You're making good time," Mirage replied. "Keep it up!"

There was a small body of water with mechanical snapping jars in it. Sora leapt through the jaws just before they closed which Cyrus jumped on top of and smashed two barrels. "All right, you two!" Donald cheered.

"I gotta admit, they ain't too bad," Phil complimented. They went up another level and were surrounded by six targets. With the powers of Blizzard and Blazing Sword, the two were able to destroy the wooden objects and proceed up to the next level where eliminated the other three. "You guys got five seconds." The two turned to two the six towering pillars. Cyrus took the three on the left as Sora took the other side. They reached the last pillars and hacked at the remaining barrels. Before Phil could count to one, both barrels were shattered simultaneously. The challenge was over.

"That wasn't too hard," Sora replied as he spun the Keyblade.

"It would've been harder if the barrels could fight back," Cyrus sneered as he turned off his lightsaber and did a flare. The two went back to the satyr and their team. "I believe we aced yo' test, Philly."

"Okay, not bad, you two," Phil said.

"I guess this means we're goin' to the games," Roger said.

"Think again."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Two words: You guys ain't heroes!"

"Do we have to go through with this again?" Nel asked. "We are heroes. And besides, Cyrus and Sora passed your test."

"I don't understand why you won't let us enter," Mirage said.

"Really?" Phil said. "Well where's your pass?"

"Uh-oh…" Lude replied silently. "I believe our hoofed friend got us."

"Damn…" Cyrus replied.

"As you say, 'this is not cool'," Nel said with a nod from Cyrus.

"Here," Phil said as he tossed a small scroll to Sora with the essence of Thunder. "In the mean time, why don't you practice with that spell for awhile." The group left the arena and walked out of the lobby.

* * *

Part 4.2: Coliseum Chaos 

"I told you it was pointless to come here," Donald said as they walked to the gate.

"Not now, Donald," Sora said.

"Well, I guess we have no choice but to take our ride to the next world," Cyrus said.

"Leaving so soon?" a male voice said. The team turned around and saw a strange man wearing a long robe with a skull on the right strap. His face long with a rather large chin. He almost looked like a tired Jay Leno, but skinnier with blue skin and a blue flame for hair. "Hey, rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?"

"You're telling us," Roger said.

"Who are you?" Donald asked.

"Whoa! Hold up there, fuzz boy," the man said.

"Hey, you're the-" before Lude could continue, Cyrus covered his mouth and hushed him. "But he's-"

"A guy with the blue flame," Cyrus replied. "That's pimp, man."

"Thanks, I think," the blue flamed man said as he walked behind Sora and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway, you want to get into the games, right?"

"Yeah…" Sora said.

"Well, I can see that you have the eyes of a true hero. Well then get a load of this…" Spawning from a small flame, a pass appeared in the man's hand.

"A pass?"

"That's right."

"Are you sure we can take this?" Mirage asked. "We can pay if you like."

"No, go ahead and take it." Taking his advise, Sora took the pass and put it in his pocket.

"Thank you, sir," Goofy said.

"Hey, good luck you guys. I'm pullin' for ya."

The group walked back to the building where Sora flashed the pass at Phil. "Hey, look what I got!" he said.

"No way!" Phil snatched the pass and inspected it. "This really is a pass. How did you get this?"

"So, are we in?" Cyrus asked. "Or are you goin' to try another futile attempt?"

Phil sighed, knowing that there was nothing more he can do. "Alright… You're in. We'll start with the preliminaries. Are you guys ready?"

"You bet we are!" Sora said eagerly.

"Okay. Just so you know, some weirdos have also entered the games. Be careful out there."

"Hey, you're talkin' to the OGC and his crew," Cyrus said. "We can take whatever they dish out."

"Correct," Lude nodded. The group headed outside and fought in the preliminaries. To make sure everyone participated, the battling team was a five person party. With every match, they switched their positions with another member. Their opponents that the group faced were Heartless that they faced before from previous worlds. However, the dark enemies were no match for their combined power. In one of the battles, Mirage lifted a Large Body and tossed the enemy across the ring like it was nothing. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were speechless.

After the third match, the team stood at the lobby door. "Wow…" Goofy said.

"How were you able to do that?" Sora asked Mirage.

"You picked that Heartless up like it was nothing," Donald said.

"You mean that thing from the last match?" Mirage asked innocently. "It was nothing, really."

"But how?" Sora asked.

"Because Mirage is a Klausian," Maria explained. "Her race is quite powerful and known for their athletic abilities. Their strength and speed outmatch ordinary people with ease."

"That's amazing," Sora said.

"Well, I have to say, you guys aren't heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad," Phil said. "It's a good thing you came to me for some training."

"Yeah," Roger sneered. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"What does that mean?" Phil said with a serious tone.

"N-Nothin', sir." the Menodix said as he shook his hands submissively.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Sophia said, earning the attention of the team.

"What is it, Soph?" Cyrus asked.

"Doesn't it seem odd that the Heartless are here in this tournament?"

"Yeah, that's right," Donald said.

"I wonder why they're here?" Sora said.

"Hey you guys!" Phil interrupted. "We need to get ready for the next fight!"

The group became quiet as a tall figure walked past them. His upper arms was wrapped in a guard. He wore large boots and dark clothes. Bristling in the breeze was his cape from behind. His mouth was covered by his clothing and his hair was spiked. On his back was a sword with a large, wrapped blade. He set his glare mainly to Sora and Cyrus. _"Whoa, never knew how similar Cloud is compared to Sora,"_ Cyrus thought. _"Then again, I'm the same person that sees some resemblance in Yuffie and Nel."_

"Something tells me he's going to be hard to beat. There's a chance you'll face him before you know it."

"Great," Cyrus said with a smile. "I can't wait."

"Man, I wish he was here to see it."

"Who do you mean?" Sophia asked.

"Hercules, a hero if there ever was a hero. Too bad he's off visiting his father, Zeus, king of the gods."

"Now those are royalties," Donald said.

The team went back into the ring, ready to fight in the next match. With the combined attacks of Goofy, Maria, Roger, Sophia, and Lude, the five defeated the opponents. "The last match!" Phil replied. "It's Cloud vs. Sora's team!"

Cloud stepped walked to the ring, but stopped in front of the team. "If you're thinking about leaving, now is your chance. But if you're thinking of fighting, then don't waste my time." With that warning, the swordsman walked to the center.

"He's as annoying as Albel," Nel said.

"Look alive, everybody," Mirage said.

"This guy think he's skilled," Cyrus said. "It's time to bring on the pain."

"There's no way he can beat us," Sora replied.

"Go get him!" Donald replied.

Cyrus, Nel, and Sora stepped into the ring and got into their fighting positions. "Yo, chump, got some news for ya!" Cyrus replied. "You're the one who should've forfeited. Now we's gonna be disturbin' the peace, bee-yotch!"

"Great," Cloud said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Another pointless, slang user. This will be quick."

"That's 'Mack Daddy Slang User OGC', ya heard!" Cyrus yelled as he pulled out his Abysmal Offender.

Cloud had a bored look on his face and slowly drew out his Buster Sword whose blade must have been six feet long. "You have got to be kidding me…" Sora said with a nervous face.

"Okay…" Cyrus said. "So it's larger in real life. But still…"

"We won't give up," Nel finished. Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "The Divine Spirit of Language" from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. The battle started and Cyrus was the first to attack when he went for a side slash to the torso. However, the cursed sword of the shizznit was blocked by Cloud's larger blade. Cyrus was shoving his foe as Nel and Sora came from the sides. The foe pushed Cyrus back and began slashing at the trio. Each strike was swift and strong. Nel and Sora countered the attack with Lightning Blast and Thunder. Cloud was able to dodge Nel's electric current, but was hit by the rain of lightning bolts from Sora. Cyrus also fired a strong Fire Bolt attack straight at Cloud. The attacks were able to weaken him, but not enough. Cloud thrust himself forward with his sword held in front. He hit Nel and Cyrus, but Sora was able to dodge the attack.

"Is that the best you can do?" the spike-haired swordsman taunted.

"No," Cyrus said. "We're just gettin' warmed up." With a mischievious grin on his face, Cyrus activated his Blazing Sword. With the scorching blade, Cyrus charged at Cloud, but the attack was blocked once more.

"Still using the same tactic? Just give up."

"Oh no," Cyrus said in a joking voice. "You're so powerful. what do I do?" Cloud pushed Cyrus out of the way and was ready to land a powerful blow. However Cyrus countered the attack by bouncing his blade off of Cloud's sword, causing both swordsman to stagger back. "Now, Sora!" Sora rushed to the scene and delivered a string of hits which threw Cloud back.

"Didn't see that one coming," Sora gloated. Cloud rose up to his feet and thrusting again, knocking the two off their feet. Before he could attack Cyrus, Nel slashed at Cloud with her daggers. The enemy swordsman's focus was now on the Aquarian spy. As he slashed, Nel dodged and leapt over the massive blade. After a few dodges, Nel jumped into the air and launched herself at Cloud. However, the blow was blocked by the blade before it could make impact. Cloud leapt in the air and stabbed his blade in the ground. Nel barely dodged the attack, but was hit by a dark aura that splashed on impact. Sora and Cyrus went to their weakened comrade's aid, but were thrown back to the ground by Cloud's aerial attack. The strike caused Cyrus' Abysmal Offender to fall out of his hands.

Sora was supporting himself on his Keyblade as he tried to stand. Cloud walked over to Sora, ready to finish him off. "I can't believe that Hades wanted me to get rid of some kid," Cloud said to himself as he tightened his grip. "What a waste of time." As Cloud raised his weapon, the swordsman was struck in his chest. Sora was wide-eyed as he could see where the hit landed, taking the shape of a print left by a punch. Next few seconds, Cloud seemed to be getting hit numerous times. Everyone was shocked as they witnessed the foe being attacked by the invisible entity. Cloud leapt back and slashed in front of him hitting the unseen fighter who landed on the ground.

In a few seconds, the body of an injured Cyrus unstably appeared. "Whoa," Cyrus said to himself. "I wonder how I can do that." As Cyrus looked up, he saw Cloud in the air, ready to make a hard impact on the ground. "Ah, screw it." Cyrus rolled to the left where his sword laid seconds before Cloud landed. He grabbed his weapon and took his battle stance. The two were in a stalemate, obviously weakened from the battle. The two sized each other up, knowing that the next move would decide the victor. Cyrus' body was engulfed in a dark aura, ready to use his infamous Shadow Slash. The two raced toward one another, ready to give the other the final blow. As soon as they were in range, Cloud thrust himself at the dark shizznit, as Cyrus rushed past him like a streaking comet. In a few seconds, Cyrus' dark aura dissipated as he grabbed his left arm. Cloud, on the other hand, collapsed on one knee and dropped his sword. The battle was over.

"And the winners are Team Sora!" Phil replied. The team ran to the aid of their comrades. Cloud stood back up. Suddenly, a large black monster appear at the stadium and had its giant paw on Cloud's sword. It appeared to be a giant dog with three head. Each head had small ears and blood red eyes. The giant mouths of each head was filled with colossal teeth. With every breath the beast made, thick black smoke blew out of its mouth.

"Hades!" Cloud said with rage. "What are you doing?"

"I forgot to mention one more rule: Accidents happen," the blue-skinned man said before he walked back to the dark passage. With its middle head, the enemy grabbed Cloud by the cape and slammed him down to the ground. The monster rose its massive heads and was ready to consume him. That was before a man in lightweight armor and a cape pushed the creature back.

"Herc!" Phil yelped in concern.

"Phil, get them out of here!" the man ordered.

"You heard him, let's go!" Without any hesitation, the team and Phil evacuated the scene and went back to the lobby.

"I can't help but to think what that enemy would've done to us, if Hercules didn't arrive," Lude said.

"Gwarsh!" Goofy began. "What was that thing?"

"That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld," Phil explained. "He's tough, but Hercules defeated him before and he could do it again." However, an unpromising yell from outside returned Phil's fears. "Then again, maybe not… This isn't good."

"I wish there was something we can do," Sophia said.

With Keyblade in hand, Sora started to walk to the arena. However, he was stopped by Phil. "Are you nuts! Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to help Hercules," Sora said.

"Are you kidding? This isn't a game, this is for real!"

"I know that. Look, you could decide if I'm hero material or not, but I'm still going."

"I'm with you, Sora," Mirage said.

"It's time for us to put that pup to sleep," Cyrus replied. The team raced outside where Hercules, who was carrying Cloud on his shoulder, was trapped in a corner. The tri-headed beast walked over to the group and sized them up.

Hercules used this distraction and ran inside. "I only got two words of advice: Attack!" Phil said.

"Two words?" Goofy replied. Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Ancient Weapon 1" from Panzer Dragoon Orta. Cerberus roared at the party and began shooting large balls of fire throughout the arena. Cyrus, Sophia, and Donald hid under the beast during the raid. Once Cerberus stopped, the guardian hunched down and roared. The group began using melee attacks. Mirage and Lude attacked with powerful martial arts kicks and punches as Nel launched herself at the beast's heads. Cyrus, Roger and Sora began hacking and slashing at the large heads. However, the fighters were hit hard by Cerberus' massive jaws. Goofy was an exception thanks to his shield and he attacked with Rocket, shooting straight at the head on the right. Sophia and Donald used their spells to recover their comrade's health before the situation became critical. The head in the center was about to strike at Mirage. However, thanks to her strength, the Klausian grabbed the teeth just before they close. She threw the head back and used Sphere of Might. A ball of energy formed, which delivered damage to the beast. From afar, Maria shot at each head with her Aiming Device, adding to the damage. After biting the party, the enemy rose on its back legs and slammed back to the ground, generating a powerful quake that injured the group. As some of the team began healing themselves, Cerberus rose back on its four legs and shot fireballs once more. However, it's attack was cut short when the monster stepped on one of Roger's Land Mines, which dealt some nice damage and triggered a chain of explosions. The team saw their chance and were ready to attack with full force. That was until a dark substance was released from the Cerberus' heads. The group were forced to contend with the fireballs that shot from the mouths and the black pillars that shot up from the substance. Unfortunately, the combination of both moves dealt a great deal of damage to the party. The party were critically weakened after being hit by another of Cerberus' shockwaves.

Cyrus tried to support himself on the wall, but he was slipping. _"Man, this thing is straight-up trife," _he thought to himself. He scanned the area and saw that everyone was in very bad shape. He stopped in fear when he saw Nel laying in the stands motionless. He tried to make his way to the bleachers. However, Cerberus spotted the shizznit and headed to him. Quickening his pace, Cyrus continued to his destination while keeping an eye on the dog. At the last minute, Cyrus climbed up to the stands before the enemy's fangs caught him. "Nel…" Cyrus said. "Nel, wake up…"

Nel's eyes opened, looking directly at the nervous face of Cyrus. "Don't worry… I'm fine…"

"Watch out!" the voice of Sora yelled. They looked behind them and saw Cerberus' upper body on the stands. The two were frozen as the foe raised its heads and roared. Cyrus tightened his grip on Nel, shielding her from the jaws. Suddenly, the monster backed away as a strong light began to glow. Everyone watched in awe as they saw a large orb. When it broke, the party was amazed. It appeared to be Cyrus, but he was different. The trench coat he wore was tinted red on the tails and at the top. The top of his shoes were also colored red, along with his gloves, his hat and the knees of his pants. He pulled out his lightsaber and turned it on. After Cerberus regained its accuracy from the glare, its middle head lunged at the shizznit. However, its attack missed as Cyrus jumped back, missing it jaws and stabbed the enemy with his lightsaber. The head quickly pulled away and all three heads snarled. Cyrus jumped from the stands and into the center of the arena with the dog not far behind. He jumped into the air and launched himself at the enemy with both weapons in front. Like a spinning disk with the blades as the edges, the shizznit approached the creature at incredible speed and collided with each of the heads. He rapidly bounced hard on each of the targets, weakening Cerberus with every impact. The group watched in amazement at how quickly the tide of battle shifted. Roger tried to keep up with the attacks, but was dazed at the speed. However, before Cyrus could land on Cerberus' left head, its jaws opened wide and shut as soon as the shizznit entered.

"Nooooooo!" Sophia yelled before an unsettling silence took the team. Only the satisfied growls of the guardian of the Underworld were heard. Suddenly, the jaws that supposedly consumed Cyrus were opening slowly, showing the red and black shizznit lifting the mouth and swiftly escaping. He landed on the ground and brushed off his shoulders. The furious Cerberus roared with all its might, but Cyrus only taunted it by signaling it to come and get him. The canine rushed toward the swordsman with jaws wide open. As soon as it was in range, Cyrus jumped toward the dog and began slashing with swift swipes from both blades. He then leapt on top of the middle head and jumped over its body before landing behind it. The foe turned around was ready to attack Cyrus, but collapsed before it can attack. The battle was over and the group walked over to Cyrus. "Are you okay, Cyrus?" Sophia asked.

"That was amazing!" Roger said. "The way you put that dog down and all!"

"What was that?" Sora asked. "And why do you look so different?"

Cyrus silently looked at the group. "So, uh, where's Nel?" Goofy asked.

Smiling, Cyrus' body glowed and separated into two. When they dimmed, the forms of the original Cyrus and Nel appeared. "That was quite a battle," Nel said with her arms folded.

"You're back!" Donald replied.

"Invigorating," Lude stated. "But you know what they say, 'all good things must come to an end'."

"You call that good?" Sora replied.

"Let's go inside," Maria said. "There's no point in staying here."

The group agreed with Maria's idea and left the stadium. _"First invisibility, and now this?"_ Cyrus thought to himself. _"This is just getting better and better." _Before Cyrus could continue, he knelt down and held his forehead with his left hand. From deep within his subconscious, a lost memory that he didn't know had, surfaced.

In his mind's eye, he saw a large lab and people in lab coats. Though the sounds weren't apparent, he did hear a voice say, "The tests from the subject seems to be adapting to the dark energy..."

He also saw chambers and, the emblem of the Heartless. Unfortunately, the visions were too fast for him to entirely understand what they meant. He rose up panting slightly and sweating. "What was that?" he asked himself. He looked around the coliseum and saw nobody, not even his party. "Whatever it was, I'll figure it out later."

They arrived at the lobby where they were congratulated by Phil and Hercules. "For your exploits in the field of heroics, I present to you your Hero's License," Phil read from a scroll. Hercules gave Sora a small card, who put the item in his pocket. "Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games," Phil read from his scroll. "Further-"

"Wait a minute!" Donald interrupted. "What do you mean by 'junior' heroes?"

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a real hero."

"So, what does it take?" Goofy asked.

"That's a lesson you'll need to learn by yourselves," Hercules said. "Just like I did."

"Alright then," Sora said. "And we'll proves ourselves in the games."

"There won't be any games for a while," Phil said. "That last battle made a serious mess that's going to take a while to clean up."

"Alright then," Cyrus said. "I guess we'll come back later." The group left the lobby and were back at the front of the building.

Near the front of the gate, the team saw a figure sitting on the steps. "Hey, isn't that Cloud?" Maria asked. The team walked over to the spiked-hair swordsman who was healed from the injuries.

"Are you okay?" Lude asked.

"Yes," Cloud answered.

"Cloud, why did you go along with him?" Mirage asked.

Cloud was silent. "I was looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to use darkness to my advantage, but it failed." He got up and brushed his shoulder. "I fell into darkness, and couldn't find my light."

"You'll find it," Sora said. "I'm searching, too."

"For your light?" Sora nodded. Cloud walked over to the young Keyblade wielder and gave him a small scroll. "Don't loose it." The rolled up piece of paper contained instructions for Sonic Blade, a powerful rushing attack.

"Yo, Cloud," Cyrus said. "How 'bout we have us a rematch. No holds, and no terminal contracts?"

"Cyrus!" Lude replied.

"What?"

Cloud turned his head and said, "I'll think about it." With that said, Cloud left the scene.

"You know, I still would like to know what happened back there?" Nel said.

"I don't know," Cyrus said. "It's like we merged somehow."

"Whatever it was, it sure helped us out," Mirage said.

"I wonder if I can to do that?" Sora asked.

"I have a feeling that with enough time, it's a possibility." With nothing else to do, the group left the coliseum and entered the gummi ship. The only thing on their minds were what the next world has to offer. And with Cyrus, what happened in the past he has no clue about.

* * *

Author's Note 1: As you can see, this story is beginning to get interesting. For a few of you who are confused of what happened during the fight with Cerberus, Cyrus merged with Nel to create his own version of Brave Form, a fusion seen in KH II. In this form, he is able to attack more efficiently with both of his swords. So how did Cyrus learn such a move that would be seen in the future by Sora? Is there some kind of link? Perhaps those memories from Cyrus' past might shed some light on the dark shizznit? 


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Author's Note 1: Warning: Major Star Wars crossover right here. Then again, it is Kingdom Hearts so of course it was going to happen.

* * *

Part 5.1: Cryptic Memory

For the last hour, the team soared through hyperspace, ready to explore the next world. Throughout the ride, Cyrus was fast asleep dreaming. Except this wasn't any normal dream. This one took place in the same lab from his visions, except that it was more visible. He looked around and saw long tables, shelves of books, and containment units. _"This is different from the Hallow Bastion that I know,"_ Cyrus thought to himself. He walked around the room, investigating the scene. It was a few seconds before he nearly ran into a large jar. But what startled him was the fact that the container with three heads: two skulls and one decayed floating around.

He leapt back from the object and saw a door behind him open. From the entrance, two figures, one a man and the other, a woman, walked into the room. "What are the status of the subjects?" the man asked.

"The tests have shown no rejection to the dark energy," the woman said. "Well, none that we could determine, unlike the other failed experiments."

"_Did she say 'dark energy'?"_ Cyrus thought to himself in shock.

"If all goes well, we may have found weapons capable of stopping the Heartless."

"Excellent," the man applauded. "And to think that he wanted to wait for that 'key'. With my research and this," from his pocket, the man pulled out a Shadow antennae, "we will not only learn more about the secrets of darkness and the heart, but perhaps even control darkness itself."

"Sir?"

"Who would have known that all the answers we have been seeking were in my fingertips."

"Do you really think that it will work?" the woman asked.

"It will. And if something goes wrong with Project: Yggdrasil, then we have the princess to unlock the keyhole."

"Project: Yggdrasil? So it wasn't some movie!" Cyrus shouted. Realizing what he did, Cyrus covered his mouth. However, nothing seemed to happen_. "Is this a scene from a past? If it is, then are my only clues hidden in my memories?"_ Cyrus shook his head. Suddenly, a loud cackle was heard and the room disappeared into the red and black abyss of Cyrus' consciousness. "What the-? What's going on here?"

"Well, well, if it isn't my good friend, Cyrus Splicer," a voice from behind said. Cyrus turned around and saw the approaching form that sent shivers down his spine. The figure was a young woman appearing to be no older than Cyrus and around the same size. She had pale skin, and gray hair with blue eyes. She wore baggy gray pants and a tank top, all of which were white. The woman stood a few meters from him with her hands on her hips. "How have you been?"

"Lystara!"

"You are observant," she sneered. "So how long has it been? Two, three days?"

"Unfortunately, it wasn't long enough. What are you up to?"

"Why would I be up to anything?"

"Because you're psychotic and evil?"

"I guess there's always that reason," Lystara said with a grin. "Well, as you can see, that last battle has taken a toll on me and weakened me. It's funny, seeing that I was only defeated once in eons."

"No, it's sad that we didn't finish you off."

"Well, you had your chance, Cyrus, and failed. Now I will reclaim my power and rule once more. But not before I take care of those pests, including the wielder of that Keyblade, permanently."

"There's no way in hell that you are going to stop us!"

"What makes you think that hasn't been done? Face it, boy, you cannot defeat a goddess. No matter what you do, I will reclaim my power and rule time and space once more. And for all we know, you will be the one who will help me in my conquest."

"You wish. I would never help some lowlife with anything."

"You don't have a choice. A person's past is what can make or break a person. And yours will turn your world upside-down. I have seen the future, and you fate has been carved in stone, so to speak."

"Yeah, and I bet it has me whoopin' on you twice and gettin' rid of you for good."

"Sure, whatever you say." Lystara turned around and was beginning to walk away.

"Hey, I ain't finished!" Cyrus ran after her, but Lystara had already vanished. The next thing Cyrus knew, a flash of bright light was heading straight at him. Before he could react, the beam had already engulfed him. At that instant, Cyrus woke up with a jolt, breathing heavily from his nightmare.

"Cyrus, what's wrong?" Maria asked. "Are you alright?"

"Um… Yeah, I'm fine, just a little nightmare," Cyrus said with a hand on his forehead. "But I think we need to keep an eye on Sora."

"Is it Lystara?"

"Yeah, and she's close. Whatever she's planning, Sora's involved."

"Then we'll have to make sure nothing happens."

"Right."

"Hey you guys!" called Sora's voice as he climbed down the ladder. "We're at the new world, but you gotta see it. It's amazing!"

"I'm game," Cyrus said. "Let's check it out." The three went upstairs into the cockpit and took a look at the world. Cyrus was stunned at the sight. It was a large, futuristic city with sky scrappers that of amazing heights. On the top of the world was a large ziggurat structure with five towering spires on it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Cyrus asked Lude in astonishment.

"Oh yeah!" Lude replied. "It has to be."

"Here we go," Donald said as he docked the ship.

* * *

5.2: Use the Force

The group landed on the platform. Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Disorder" from Baten Kaitos as he and the team scanned their surroundings. Behind them was an endless see of hover vehicles in a vast cityscape. In front of them were the five large spires towering overhead. "This place sure is big," Goofy said as he looked up at the buildings.

"I wonder where we are?" Sora said.

"This planet seems to be highly advanced," Mirage replied.

"I'm sure the Vendeeni themselves would be in awe," Maria said. "Even Earth before the Executioner attacks wasn't as expansive as this."

"I have a feeling that that's an understatement," Cyrus said.

"I wonder what they have to eat?" Roger said. The group silently stared at the Menodix. "What? I'm hungry?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm starving, too," Sophia replied.

"Well, it has been a while since we had some food," Nel agreed.

"Yeah," Cyrus said. "Zooming through hyperspace and fighting Heartless does work up an appetite."

"Let's just go in," Donald said. "There's gotta be something in there to eat."

"Do you think it's wise to just barge in there?" Lude questioned. "This doesn't sound like a good idea. Wouldn't it be in the lines of… oh, I don't know… Trespassing?"

"Come on," Cyrus said with his hood up. "Everythin's gonna be fine. All we need to do is play our cards right. Who knows, maybe we'll find someone here." The shizznit moved closer to his friend and whispered, "And 'sides, we need some energy if we're going to stop the Heartless. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we had a quick bite to eat."

"But still…" Before he could say anything, the group heard the sound of a growling stomach muffled by Lude's shirt. "I stand corrected."

"Let's go everyone," Sora said. "We need to see if Riku or Kairi are here, anyway." The party headed to the establishment. As they walked, people in cloaks and robes stared at them. The team also eyed their audience, who had characteristics that they have never seen, including strange markings and body features. "I never seen anything like them."

"From the looks on their faces, we're stranger to them as they are to us," Maria said.

"I never knew so many different people can congregate in one place," Nel replied.

"Excuse me," a voice said. Approaching the group was an elegant woman dawning a cloak baggy pants and a shirt that showed her belly. She had blue skin and on each side of her head were two long tendrils. "May I help you?"

Lude was wide-eyed when he saw the woman. He tried speaking, but he spoke incoherently. Cyrus, however was more composed and only shook his head. "Dude, this ain't a convention," Cyrus whispered. "So stop geekin' out, already."

"Is he alright?" the woman asked kindly.

"I guess he's really hungry," Sora said.

"That's one way to look at it, homes," Cyrus replied. He turned to the woman with arms folded. "Yo, we're sorry to come here unannounced. See, we come from a place… a place far, far away. And…"

Before Cyrus could finish, a growl from Roger's stomach cut him off. "Sorry about that," he said and chuckled embarrassingly.

"How about we get you something to eat first, and then you could tell me all about it," the woman said.

"Please, lead the way," Nel said.

"Before we continue, can you tell us your name?" Mirage asked.

"My name is Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, it is a pleasure to meet you," she said.

"You too," Sophia said with a bow.

"Hi…" a barely audible Lude said.

The team followed the woman through the hall. The people still stared as they proceeded. _"I wonder,"_ Cyrus thought. _"Are they eyeing us because of our appearance? Or is it something else?"_

After a few minutes of walking, and listening to Lude, Sora, and Roger's stomachs, the team made it to the cafeteria. Even though some of the food was strange, it was still edible. Lude was still speechless as he surveyed scenery (and the women). "That was good," Goofy said.

Donald glared at his food. Some of it was still moving. "I think mine is still alive…" the duck replied. He didn't know if he was supposed to eat it or set it free.

"That's the best part of it," Cyrus said. "In fact, it tastes like chicken."

The mage frowned at the shizznit and shook his head. Then he turned back to his plate and pushed it forward. "I lost my appetite."

"So, you said you're from another world?" the woman asked. "Is it somewhere like Mygeeto or Taris?"

"No…" Sora said. "I think it's farther than those."

"Yeah," Cyrus said. "Really farther."

"I see," Aayla replied.

"Miss, can you tell us where we are?" Roger asked.

"This is the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. This is where many Jedi come to hone their skills and learn of the ancient code passed down since the Old Republic."

"What's a Jedi?" Sora asked.

"Jedi are a group of people that have existed for countless centuries who have a certain bond to the Force, the energy that all living things have. Our purpose is to insure peace and justice in the galaxy. However, throughout our existence, our numbers have dwindled due to the wars with the Sith and the current Clone Wars. But as the years pass, we have slowly recovered from near extinction."

"The Sith?"

"They were once Jedi, but have turned to the dark side of the force. They are a tyrannical group that will stop at nothing to rule the galaxy with an iron fist."

"So they're the bad guys," Donald said.

"That's right." Aayla then looked at Cyrus. "I wonder…"

"Huh?" Cyrus responded. "What do you mean?"

"You wield a lightsaber, correct?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"Only Jedi and Sith usually carry such weapons. The difference is that we use them and our Force abilities as self defense while Siths will kill at will. Forgive me for saying this, but you almost look like a Sith, especially with your saber's hilt. Never in history has one who uses the dark side of the Force come to these halls."

"Well that's the Sith, miss," Lude said. "Cyrus is a skilled warrior who only attacks enemies. He never harms the innocent or the unarmed."

"Lude, you're making me sound like Robin Hood," Cyrus replied. "But he's right. Only a punk or some chump does that. And besides, if I were a Sith, would I really want to go in a temple filled with enemies? That's like one cockroach taking over a pesticide factory."

"You do have a point," the Twi'lek said. "But what is that weapon attached to your back?"

"You mean this?" Cyrus unsheathed his sword and placed it on the table. "Just my sword, the Abysmal Offender."

"It is strange to see a weapon such as this. So tell me, what brings you here?"

"It's a long story," Sora said. "We were attacked by some things called the Heartless."

"The Heartless? What are they?"

"They're monsters that take people's hearts. They came after our worlds and attacked. During that time, we got separated from our friends."

"Luckily, that's when we bumped into each other," Maria said. "Donald and Goofy told us about him being chosen by the Keyblade."

"The Keyblade?"

"Here," Sora said as he handed his weapon the Aayla. "The Heartless are after me because I'm using it."

"Strange weapon," she said as she inspected it. "Yet, I sense a power of the likes I have never seen." The Jedi returned the weapon to Sora.

"Aayla, can I ask you something?" Sophia questioned.

"Of course. Is there something wrong?"

"Well, it's just… Did anyone else come here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Other people, like ourselves," Mirage said. "We think that our comrades might be here in this world."

The Jedi began to ponder on Sophia's statement. "I believe we might have had some visitors before yourselves."

"Really?" Sora asked.

"I'm not sure. There was some talk of strange visitors in the temple after I returned to the temple. Soon afterwards, a Clone Trooper reported his Blaster Rifle and Blaster Pistol missing. I'm not sure if there is a connection, but still…"

Cyrus and Lude had straight faces as soon as they heard that. _"Why is he always jackin' people's weapons?"_ Cyrus thought to himself.

"Anyway, I'll go to the council to see whether you can take this situation up with them. Until then, please stay here. We have many beautiful gardens and other quiet areas where you can meditate and sparring rooms for you to train."

"Thank you, Ms. Secura," Sora said.

Cyrus turned to Donald who still wasn't touching his food. "Are you eating that?" he asked before moving the mage's bowl in front of him.

"Where is the bathroom?" the mage asked.

"Take a right when you leave here. It's down the hall and the fourth door on the left."

"Thank you." Donald hastily left the cafeteria as Cyrus dined on his meal. Shaak Ti went to the council after she finished her food.

"So, what are we going to do?" Cyrus asked.

"I want to take a look at the garden," Sophia said. "It sounds lovely."

"That does sound pretty," Goofy said. "I'll come to." He then yawned. "Maybe I can catch a little sleep."

"Well, I'm going to meditate," Mirage said. "There are a lot of things I need to think about."

"I'll just look around," Roger said. "There's some beautiful women around here. Maybe with some of my charm… Hey, do you think Aayla's single?"

"Wait, I saw her first!" Sora replied.

"Roger, Sora, don't," Lude said. "For one, it would be a disaster. Second, the Jedi don't focus on relationships. It's against their code."

"What?"

"The Jedi's think that emotions can get in the way of peace and lead to the dark side of the force," Cyrus said. "Besides, do you could get with Aayla? Don't get me wrong, she's hot and all. But what is she…? Thirty somethin' years old? She's old enough to be your mom, boys! Besides, you two would have competition from Mr. Star Wars Fanatic over here."

Lude knew that Cyrus was referring to him and gave a quick scowl. "What are you implying, my friend?" Lude snapped.

"But still, it wouldn't hurt to try," Roger said.

"I'm going to the sparring rooms. There's nothing better than some training. Any takers."

"I'm coming," Sora said. "I want to see more of this place."

"Anyone else going?" Cyrus asked.

"We need to be prepared for the Heartless," Maria said.

"It would be best if we gotten a little stronger," Nel replied.

"I, too, shall accompany you," Lude said. "We need to be at the top of our game."

"Let's go," said the shizznit. The team left the cafeteria and parted their separate ways. Cyrus, Nel, Maria, Lude, and Sora went through the halls and into one of the sparring rooms. However, when they arrived, four Jedi were already inside using it. Two of them were human males, an older one with a beard, and a younger with short hair. The other duo were women with tanned skin and markings on their faces. However, the markings on the younger woman were across her face. The other's markings were on her chin. "Oh, snap! Didn't know this room was in use."

"Oh, that's alright," the young woman said. "If you want, you can…" as she turned to face the group, she cut herself off. "It can't be… Cyrus?"

"Barriss. It's good to see you again."

"Lude, Nel, and Maria, how are you?"

"Just fine," Maria said.

"Who knew that we would cross paths so soon," Lude replied.

"It's funny how Apris works sometimes," Nel said.

"Barris, do you know these people?" the older tanned woman asked Barriss.

"You guys know her?" Sora asked his group.

"Yes, Master Luminara," Barriss said. "This is Cyrus, the young man I told you about after I returned from Mygeeto. He and his group not only helped defeat General Grievous, but they also saved our existence."

"Yeah, we keep it real as much as we can," Cyrus said nonchalantly to Sora. "Barriss was real helpful since we first met. Without her, there was a chance that we wouldn't have stopped that freak, Lystara."

"When Barriss first told us about this information, I found it hard to believe," Luminara said. "But since you are here, I guess what she said was true."

"So, who are those guys?" Sora asked. "Are you Jedi, too?"

"Correct, young one," the man with the beard said. "I am Master Obi Wan Kenobi. This is Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight."

"So you actually beat Grievous?" Anakin asked Cyrus.

"I'm not one to gloat," Cyrus said as he tugged on his collar. "But Fayt, Barris and I did show him how we roll. We was representin', know what I'm sayin'."

"Cyrus, who is the child?" Barriss asked.

"Child?" Sora replied before drawing his Keyblade. "I'm not a child. I'm Sora, the hero chosen by the Keyblade."

"I'm sure you are," Anakin said, earning a glare from Sora.

"So tell us, are you here for a visit?" Obi Wan asked.

"Well, not really…" Sora said. The Keyblade wielder told the Jedi everything about their current situation.

"So you're saying these 'Heartless' are the reason for your arrival?" Luminara said.

"That's right," Nel replied. "There is a chance that they may have arrived and our comrades have no idea on what is happening."

"I still don't believe it," Anakin said before turning his attention to Cyrus. "How good are you with your lightsaber?"

"Good enough to be skilled," Cyrus said with a grin.

"How about we spar a little. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." Anakin turned back on his blue lightsaber and held it infront.

"A challenge, playboy? Don't worry 'bout me, just watch your back."

"A word of caution," Barriss said. "Anakin is one of the strongest Jedi on Coruscant. His skills in the Force and saber combat are among to best."

"Yeah, but when it comes to keepin' it real, I'm the true master. Watch out, son. I'm gonna show you how it's done." Cyrus pushed the side of his trench coat back and grabbed the curved hilt. He took a samurai stance after activating the red blade.

"It's funny," the Jedi Knight said with a smile. "Only the Sith wield lightsabers like that."

"Just so you know, I got this bad boy back when I first encountered Grievous," Cyrus grinned. "Let's just say that he wasn't going to be usin' it. Now, let's get this party started. I have a feelin' it's gonna get crazy up in here." The shizznit turned his MP3 Player to "Imprint" by Vision of Disorder before charging at Anakin. The Jedi also rushed forward. They met half way with both sabers clashing. They two were locked in a shoving match, their lightsabers hummed as they tested each other's strength. The two broke away and began parrying blows. Cyrus tried an overhand swing, but was blocked by Anakin's sword. The Jedi then swung downward, but the shizznit also blocked his attack as well. However, Anakin countered with a quick kick to the stomach causing Cyrus to stagger back.

"Do you give up?" the cocky Jedi asked.

"Oh, I'm just getting started. Let me show you somethin'." Cyrus stood back up and used his Darkness Blade. He called upon his dark energy and placed it on his lightsaber. Though the red blade still glowed, it was still covered in dark aura.

"What the-?" Before Anakin could finish, Cyrus charged at the Jedi with his lightsaber. Anakin blocked the blow. The two swung their lightsabers, left and right, but each strike was being blocked. When the two were near the wall, Cyrus ran on the side before jumping off and striking down. However, the move was blocked. Anakin leapt up and was ready to use the Force, but Cyrus quickly moved closer before the attack made impact. As soon as Anakin landed, Cyrus back flipped, kicking the Jedi under his jaw. The warrior was airborne, but recovered before landing. Cyrus sprinted toward him, while charging up an attack in his free left hand. Anakin saw the shizznit coming and used the Force to push him back. Before he was sent flying by the wave of energy, Cyrus fired two Fire Bolts. The fire balls hit the Jedi and gave considerable amount of damage as it burned part of his robe. Cyrus also suffered injury thanks to the Force Push as he landed hard on the ground. Anakin patted off the flames from his clothes as Cyrus, though a little dazed, got back up. The Jedi used his Saber Throw, hurling his weapon at Cyrus. The shizznit saw this and quickly countered with his own Saber Throw. Both blades met at the center and returned to their tired wielders. The two stood in their battle stances, Cyrus standing in a samurai position and Anakin with his blade held in front of him. "Not bad," the Jedi said.

"You're not too bad, either," Cyrus said. "How about we call this a draw."

"Why? Are you tired?"

"I'm fine. But you're the one who looks beat."

"Hey, you guys!" a loud voice yelled. The group turned around and saw Donald Duck running into the room.

"Now that is just bizarre," Obi Wan said as he and the other Jedi stared at the wizard duck.

"What is it, DD?" Cyrus asked.

"Aayla said that it's time to go. The council wants to see us now."

"Great," Sora said. "We'll be right there." Donald left the room to gather the rest of the group.

Barriss and the others were still speechless. "That wasn't a talking duck in a robe, was it?" she asked.

"That it was," Lude replied.

"Strange… Anyway, I'll come with you."

"Really?" Sora asked.

"Of course." She turned to her Jedi comrades and say, "I'll see you later."

"Alright, just remember we still have a battle to finish," Anakin said.

"I won't forget." The group left the room with the Jedi Knight, Barriss Offee.

Near the entrance of the Aayla stood waiting for the party. "Ah, Barriss. Is there some business you have?"

"Yes. I would like to accompany them to the council. These people are comrades of mine."

"Really? Well then, as you wish."

"Thank you," Barriss said with a bow. Aayla also bowed before leaving the scene.

"So, uh, where is it?" Goofy asked.

"You know there are five towers here, right?"

"Right," Donald said. "So which one are we going in?"

"We're going to the top of the southwest spire. That's where the council is. Well, half of them, anyway."

"What do you mean by half?" Cyrus asked.

"There are twelve Jedi that have seats in the council. Anakin and Master Kenobi are also part of it. Six of them are on a mission."

"The Clone Wars, right?" Sora asked.

"Correct. Now, we must go." The team left the halls and walked outside. From there, the team went to the next spire on the side and entered. They took an repulsor-lift that sent them to the top. Cyrus was content with the fact that he had the privilege to see the council. For Lude, it was like the happiest day in his life. The young fighter couldn't wait to arrive at the Jedi Council Chambers.

* * *

Part 5.3: Darkness Spreads

They arrived at the top of the spire. After walking through the hall, the door opened and the team entered the High Council's chambers. Inside, twelve chairs had surrounded the star-like design on the center of the floor. Six people occupied them, including Obi Wan and Anakin. Sitting in one of the chairs was a small green man with three toes, course hair, and point ears. "To the Jedi Temple, I welcome you," he said. "Yoda, my name is."

"Oh my god," Lude said. "All praise the vertically challenged green man."

"Good shizznit, Lude!" Cyrus hissed. "You sound like a fan of N'Sync."

"I mean…" Lude quickly cleared his throat and stood up casually. "We are humbled by your presence, Master Yoda."

"Is he going to be like this for the whole time?" Nel whispered to Cyrus. The dark shizznit only shrugged his shoulders.

"Aayla told us that you are looking for someone?" a dark skinned Jedi asked.

"They are, Master Windu," Barriss said. "These people have been separated from the rest of their party. It is possible that the ones from before are who they are searching."

"From those 'Heartless' you speak of?" a woman with red skin and five blue and white striped tendrils on her head said. "I must say the story you told Aayla is rather hard to believe."

"We know what you mean," Nel said.

"And what planet are you from?" a man with a high forehead and beard said.

"A few of us originate from the one called Earth."

"Earth, you said?" Yoda asked before turning to the man with the high forehead. "Hail from there, the visitors before said, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi."

"I never heard of such a planet."

"Perhaps it is one of the planets in the Outer Rim," Obi Wan said.

"Are they still here?" Sophia asked.

"Yes," the woman, Shaak Ti, said. "We have already summoned them before you came. They should be here by now." The Jedi Master turned her attention to the opening door and saw three people enter the room. "Ah, here they are now."

The group turned around to the trio. As soon as Sophia saw them, a smile appeared on her face. One of them was a boy with blue hair and wearing a white sleeveless shirt, blue armored pants, and a blue girdle. On his left was a girl with long blue hair and wearing blue jeans. Her fingernails and eye shadow were also the same color. On his right was a younger boy around Cyrus and Lude's age. He was a young white male who wore a pair of Adidas, a red Fubu sweater, green baggy pants, and a black Joker beanie. "Sophia?" the boy in blue said.

"Fayt… Fayt!" Sophia yelped before running over to him and embracing him tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"It's good to see you again."

"Yo, yo, yo!" said the boy in the Fubu sweater. "Jack, the mac, big shizznat, is back!"

"Oh man," Lude said. "Well, it's good to see ya, Cracker Jack."

"Yo, Cracker Jack," Cyrus replied. "What's happenin', son?"

"Nothin'," Jack said. "We's just be chillin' out, know what I mean?"

"It's good to see you again," the blue haired woman said.

"Ravage," Lude said. "You're fairing well."

"Likewise."

"Well, I see that you know each other," the Jedi woman said.

"Thank you, Master Ti," Fayt said. He then saw Barriss and walked up to her. "Barriss, I see that you made it back alright."

"If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have came back at all," the Mirialan Jedi said.

"Now I'm really starting to believe your story," Anakin said.

"Yo, guess what I got!" Jack said. He then pulled out a large rifle and two smaller guns. "I'm stunnin' wit' these toasters, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Jack… Are those Blaster Pistols and a Blaster Rifle?" Lude asked.

"That's right, homeboy."

"Off the hizzle, cuzz," Cyrus said. "But tell me, where did you get them

"I just found them lying around."

"Lying around?"

"Oh fo' sho'," Lude and Cyrus said with glares.

Before the group could continue, Yoda stood up and had a serious look on his face. "Is there something wrong, Master Yoda?" Ravage asked.

"Approaching quickly, the shadows are," Yoda said. "The dark side grows strong."

As soon as he said that, a holographic transmission had appeared at the center of the floor. "I'm sorry to interrupt your party," a voice said.

Cyrus turned his attention to the message and saw a man in dark pants and a shirt with a cape. He had a sliver beard and silver hair. "No way…" Lude said.

"Dooku," Yoda replied with angst.

"What are you doing here?" Shaak Ti said.

"My, my, my, aren't we a little hasty," the aristocrat said.

"Who is that?" Fayt asked.

"That is Count Dooku," Barriss said. "He used to be a Jedi Master taught under Yoda. That was until he left the order a few years before the Clone Wars. Now, he has become a powerful Sith Lord known as Darth Tyrannus and is using his status to aid the Separatist movement."

The Sith Lord turned around and faced the team. "I see we have some guests."

"Now tell us what your business is, Count Dooku," Ravage said.

"Very well, young lady. You see, I have a proposition to make. I am here at the Senate Rotunda where I am keeping the senators hostage." The focus of the transmission shifted and showed a group of people from different planets surrounded by robotic droids. However, there were other creatures at the scene that also came as a shock to the group. "If any clone trooper attacks or infiltrates the compound," Dooku signaled to two Super Battle Droids and a Soldier Heartless to hold up a woman with brown hair, "then one of these delegates will die."

"Padme…" Anakin said.

"What are those other things?" Fayt asked.

"Those are the Heartless," Sora said. "They're the ones that separated everyone."

"Grotesque beasts, aren't they," Ravage said.

"We will not harm them in anyway. In fact, we will set them free by one simple demand. We ask of you to surrender the temple. If not, then my troops will demolish it and destroy the Jedi inside."

"This is outrageous!" Ki-Adi-Mundi retorted. "This place is sacred to our history!"

"We will not give in to your demands, Dooku," Mace said.

"Very well then," the aristocratic Sith replied nonchalantly. "I have no choice. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"There's no way you're taking over this place!" Sora ordered.

"You won't get away with this, ya punk!" Cyrus said.

"We ain't gonna let that happen, chump!" Jack added.

"Yeah!" Donald said.

"Bold words coming from younglings," Dooku taunted. "Oh well, it's a shame that it's all they are: words. And now, I bid you adieu." The image of the Count became static and the hologram was turned off.

"What can we do?" Shaak Ti asked. "It will be a matter of time before the enemies reach the temple. We do not have enough people to protect this place."

"The only reason the Clone Troopers can't get in is because of their numbers and firepower," Maria said. "And Dooku knows it. But if they can't, then we might."

"She is correct," Obi Wan said. "With smaller numbers, they can infiltrate the building with ease."

"We beat these guys before," Roger said. "And we can do it again."

"This is not your fight," Mace said. "There's no reason for involving anyone else. That includes people in your situation."

"But the Heartless are here," Sora said.

"Sora's right," Nel replied. "You said yourself that it will only be a matter of time before they take over this place."

"We have to go," Sophia said. "Now that they're here, it's become our battle, too."

"'Sides, if we stay here, the situation's only gonna get worse," Cyrus said. "What'll you think will happen after they finish with this? Darth Sidi- I mean Tyrannus, will be running the show sooner than you think."

"And giving you guys a hand is the least we can do," Fayt said. "Since you helped us, it's time that we returned the favor."

"Please, let us stop them," Barriss said. "These people are powerful fighters, and I know that personally. With our current situation, They might be our only chance. I ask you Master Yoda, let us go rescue them."

The elder thought about the requests of the party. What was most important, however, was that he could feel the Dark Side approaching the Jedi Temple. "Hurry to the Senate, you must," he said. "Little time to spare, you have. Waiting for you, a group of clones are."

"Thank you, Master."

"I will also accompany them," Anakin said.

"No, young Skywalker," Yoda said. "Needed here, you are."

"He's right," Obi Wan said. "We need you to help us against Dooku's forces."

"But Master-"

"I'm sorry, but we need all the help we can get." Anakin was silent. He knew that there was no point in arguing in this matter.

"Go, you must," Yoda said.

"Yes, Master Yoda," Lude said.

The team left the room and went down the hall. As they did, Jack, Cyrus, and Lude had smiles on their faces. "So, which one?" Jack asked as Barriss pressed the repulsor-lift button.

"Say what?" Cyrus asked.

"Which one of these lady Jedi is a dimepiece?"

"Cracker Jack, control yourself!" Lude replied.

"That's what I've been telling you," Cyrus sneered.

"What? I don't know what you are talking about!" The door opened and the party entered the repulsor-lift.

"Oh, I guess you forgot that you was goin' 730." The door closed and the team were ready to depart, entering the heart of the city, where the Galactic Senate resided.

* * *

Part 5.4: Shadows of the Sith

In order to get to the city, Barriss led the group to the Jedi Temple Hangars in one of the other temples. Barriss who has taken the position as General, called on the aide of armored wearing soldiers known as Clone Troopers. "General Offee, we are ready for departure," one in red and white said. "The droid troops are currently holding a strong defense at the Senate District. Our forces are holding up, but we don't know for how long."

"Thank you, Commander Bly." Offee replied. "Alright everyone. To the Senate!"

"We'll show them Sith cowards not to be frontin' us!" Cyrus replied.

"I want to teach that guy a thing or two about messing with Roger, men among men," Roger said.

"Hey, are those my guns?" one of the clones asked.

"What?" Jack gasped. "These? Oh, no, cuzz'. These are mine."

"That's strange… They look exactly like the ones I had before they went missing."

"Oh! W-Well, you know. I-I mean, it is war after all. Everyone's packin' heat."

"Good point." The trooper walked into the cockpit of one of the vehicles.

Jack put his guns away. When he turned around, he saw stern looks from Lude, Cyrus, and Ravage. "You really did take his guns!" Ravage hissed.

"Nu-uh," Jack quickly retorted. "I just found them, like I said."

"We can't take you anywhere, man," Cyrus said.

"Man, why is everyone getting heavy on me?" Jack replied.

The shizznit turned his MP3 Player to "Gigantic Fleet" from Panzer Dragoon Orta before he and his comrades entered in aircraft carriers known as LAAT Gunships. Their destination was the Senate Building, a giant dome shaped establishment where representatives would arrive from the many planets across the galaxy. Even though the team were flying above the city, they had to face enemy fire. Luckily, all fourteen members and a squad of clones were able to survive the aerial raid thanks to the firepower of the LAATs and the long range attacks from the team. When they arrived on the battlefield, they saw the main path leading to the large doors of the building, lined with large statues of its founders. Unfortunately, the entrance was under gunfire. The ground was filled with bodies of the fallen and broken from both sides. At the moment, it seemed that the clone troop had the upper hand, but with the Heartless working with the enemies, it was only a matter of time before the situation became critical. "Well, we're here," Cyrus said.

"How do we get in?" Sora asked. "We're stuck here."

"There's got to be some way to get in there," Fayt said.

"There is," Barriss said. She turned around and called over a Clone Trooper in red and white armor. "Commander, we need you to cover us. After we get inside, you and your squad will assist the troops."

"Yes, ma'am." The party hurried to the dome. As they did, the clones surrounded them and fired at the droids. Barriss also lent a hand thanks to the Force. After a few minute rush, the team made it to the front gate. As instructed, the clones separated and entered the battle against the droid army.

"That was too close," Goofy said.

"Let's go inside already!" Donald hastily said.

"Awwwww…" Jack moaned. "Can I at least bust a few caps?"

"Jack!" Sophia yelped. "We need to get out of here!"

"Come on, Cracker Jack," Cyrus said. "I promise, you'll have a chance to murk some chumps and bust a cap up some punk's ass when we get inside."

"But I want to do it now…" The whimpering Jack was being dragged inside by Mirage.

"What a big baby," Roger said under his breath.

The team entered the building as Cyrus' MP3 Player played "Westopolis" from Shadow the Hedgehog. The room was dim thanks to some of the broken lights in the lobby. On the far side was the repulsor-lift that would allow the group to enter the Grand Convocation Chamber, the area where Dooku is holding the senators. "There's the elevator!" Mirage said.

"We're getting close," Sora said. "I guess all we have to do is take that thing upstairs and that's about it."

"Don't be so sure," Barriss said as she scanned the area. "I'm sensing a dark presence nearby. The presence of the Dark Side."

"Where is it?" Cyrus asked.

"Everywhere. Within these shadows. They are close, I can feel them."

Suddenly, materializing from the shadows of the room, many different Heartless appeared. However, these enemies were different. Even though they're the same types that the team faced, they colors were different. "So we're outnumbered and they've got some body work done," Cyrus replied.

"Big deal," Donald said. "That hasn't stopped us before." The party then heard the metallic footsteps of approaching droids. Appearing from the dark areas of the room, they were surrounded by the a small troop of Super Battle Droids, Droidekas and Battle Droids.

"I believe that our automaton friends have made some change on the playing field," Ravage whispered.

"Finally, I get to use these!" Jack said with glee and a toothy grin as he pulled out his new guns.

"Let's get them!" Maria shouted. The team rushed into battle as the opposition began their attack. Lasers and flames were being fired at the party. The battle was long and hard, however, it didn't stop the group, especially the trigger-happy Jack. In the end, the Heartless were banished and the robot rivals were reduced to shrapnel.

"That wasn't too hard," Nel said.

"Let's go before more show up!" Donald replied.

"Hold on," Barriss replied with a serious look on her face. "We still have company."

"I'm feelin' it, too," Cyrus said. "Look sharp." Carefully, the team took slow steps toward the transport device. To get a better view, Cyrus and Barriss used their lightsabers as flashlights. They cautiously scanned their environment. The area was vacant. However, as they walked, Cyrus heard something. "Do you guys hear that?" he asked his group.

The noise became more apparent. Each sound seemed to be touching the ground, like footsteps. Though there was nothing in sight. The team continued their search, only to find nothing. Ravage's eyes scanned the area. Then she realized that it might not have been the ground they're walking on. She rose her head slowly until she was at the ceiling. The woman froze when she saw a pair of shinny yellow eyes staring back at her. "Move!" Ravage shouted as the form came crashing to the ground. The team barely survived the impact.

The team turned their weapons to the silhouette who was shrouded in dust. When it cleared, the team tightened their grips on their weapons. It was large, roughly around seven feet tall with strong legs and arms. The body gave it the appearance of a droid, but the yellow eyes encased in the enemy's skull mask shown that it was more than just a machine. "What the-?" Sora replied. "Who is that?"

"Grievous…" Barriss said. "It's never an honor."

"You must be the General, I presume," Maria said.

"I see the fools have arrived," sneered Grievous. "I didn't expect to run into you scum again."

"To tell you the truth, neither did we," Fayt said.

"What are you doing here?" Cyrus asked.

"I am here to make sure nothing interferes with my master's plans," said the cyborg. "And in order to for this mission's success…" General Grievous quickly drew two lightsabers from his waist and activated their blades, "I will destroy you." Then, each of his arms split in two and pulled out a couple more from his waist.

"Let's get him," Cyrus replied before turning to "Devils Never Cry" from Devil May Cry 3. "Nel, are you ready?"

"Let's go," Nel said. Nel merged with Cyrus into Brave Form.

"So, you think that will save you?" Grievous taunted. "You are only prolonging the inevitable." The red version of Cyrus pulled out his Abysmal Offender and joined Sora, Barriss and Fayt to fight the general. Grievous was able deflected their hits with each of his arms. He then spun his sabers as he walked toward his opponents who were stepping back from the approaching enemy. Sora quickly rushed in slashed, but the attack was blocked. Just before the general attack, the others quickly joined into the fray and blocked the other arms. General Grievous kicked away Sora and Cyrus, who both blocked with their swords, but still pushed back by the force of the hit. Barriss and Fayt were able to connect a few blows, but they weren't enough to stop the General. The two were hit hard by strong jabs of Grievous' lightsabers. Cyrus returned to the battle and slashed at the foe as Sora fired with Thunder and Blizzard. Before Sora could hit Grievous with another magic attack, the general dodged the attack by leaping back from the three. He landed behind Sora, who turned around to face him. Before the Keyblade wielder could react, the General lifted him up by his weapon arm and threw him at Barriss. The Keyblade fell to the ground before he was tossed. Fayt met the general and used his Blade of Fury, hitting him with each wave. Barriss healed herself and Sora from the collision and then used her power of the Force to give Sora back his Keyblade. She quickly got up and rejoined the battle. The Mirialan used her Saber Throw, hurling her blade at Grievous, giving the cyborg damage. The foe recovered from the hits and charged at the Jedi with a burst of speed. Barriss was thrown back from the attack. Grievous quickly returned his attention to Fayt who was about to slash at his midsection. However, he dodged the strike and grabbed him by the head with his foot. Before Grievous could throw the blue-haired swordsman behind him, Cyrus launched his body straight at the droid hybrid, causing the Kaleesh to drop the warrior. Cyrus was parrying blows with the General. The two exchanged quick slashes and swift jabs. Cyrus swung his lightsaber upward and was ready to slash down with his Abysmal Offender, but the General bent backward, narrowly missing the strike, and threw his lightsabers. He then stood on his arms and grabbed the weapons with both feet and struck at the shizznit. Cyrus blocked General Grievous' blades as he slashed down and spun them in his toes. The cyborg then swept across the ground with his feet while still holding the lightsabers. Cyrus barely jumped over them. As soon as he landed back on the floor, the general used his free hands and grabbed Cyrus' ankles. He pulled the swordsman down to the ground. As he did, the general threw his lightsabers in the air once again, turned his body forward in an upright position, caught his lightsabers with his top pair of arms, and pinned the shizznit with his bottom pair. Cyrus managed to block Grievous' sabers only inches from his face. "Give it up. You cannot win," he said as he applied more pressure onto the fused shizznit while spinning his top pair of blades. Cyrus could feel the heat of the Kaleesh's blades as they closed in on him. He could feel their heat intensify. "You are done for." At that second, Grievous stopped spinning his top pair of lightsabers and pointed the tips straight at Cyrus face. Before the cyborg's arms stabbed, a powerful Force wave hurled the General back and caused him to crash on the floor. Cyrus gasped for breath and saw Sora, Fayt, and Barriss ready for attack. Taking initiative, Cyrus used Healing upon himself and then turned invisible. The three were moving Grievous back. After exchanging powerful and swift chops and slices, the four were locked. However, Grievous quickly capitalized and shoved them away. He was zeroing in on the Mirialan Jedi and was ready to strike with his top left hand, but that was before his armor was being rapidly kicked by an unseen force. General Grievous was moved back from the invisible strikes of Raptor's Revenge that were damaging him. With each kick, the cloak of Cyrus' Brave Form was wearing off. After that assault, Grievous tried to slice Cyrus to ribbons, but the attacks were blocked and the Kaleesh warrior was now feeling the effects of the series of kicks. Quickly, Cyrus saw his chance and acted upon it with Break Beats. The fused shizznit turned the cyborg on his head and spun him. Then Cyrus performed a windmill, spinning his legs around while rolling into his shoulder. After the third revolution, Cyrus kicked the General in the face hard enough to flip in the air and crash to the ground. The got up and saw that the foe trying to stand back up. But before Grievous could the merged warrior smiled. Grievous was bewildered for a moment, until Cyrus began using his Rocksteady. With a powerful combination of punches and kicks, the Brave Form performed a flare before kicking his feet up to the General's face. He then sweep himself off the floor and stomped on the chest of the enemy. He leapt off the warn out foe. The cyborg was unconscious and the battle was over.

Cyrus' Brave Form separated into Nel and Cyrus once more. "Are you guys okay?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah, we'll be okay," Fayt said.

"Let's hurry!" Nel replied. "We don't have anymore time to loose!" The party left the scene just before General Grievous groaned in pain.

The team went up the repulsor-lift to the top floor. After walking down a short hall, the team was in a large chamber filled with floating saucers covering the walls. In the center was a tall podium with a large chair sitting on top. In a few of them, there were hostages sitting on them. Among them was a woman with brown hair and an aged man with a long robe and white hair that was thick at the sides. "This is the Grand Convocation Chamber," Barriss said. "There are 1,024 repulsor-pods, each for a different senator of the said planets."

"And it will also be your demise," a voice said. They looked up and saw Darth Tyrannus looking down upon them from the podium. "I see that you have made it pass General Grievous." The man lowered to the ground before them, landing gently in front of the ground.

"Ah, Barriss," an old man in a dark purple robe and gray hair said. "Perfect timing."

"Help us, please!" Padme said.

"Let the Senate go, Dooku!" Barriss ordered. "Surrender yourself now!"

"Aren't you Luminara's Padawan? Look at you, you've become a Jedi Knight and are following the lies of the Order."

"Sithspit! You're the one following lies! You believe that the Sith order is what will spread peace across the galaxy. You're blind by power and are only causing more suffering."

"You do not understand. The Jedi Order is false and is slowing becoming corrupt. The only way to secure the galaxy is to wipe it out and start anew. And I'm sure that boy knows what I'm talking about." The team stared at who Dooku pointed toward. It was Cyrus, who gave Dooku I cockeyed look. "I could sense the Dark Side within you and you know I am correct. And you," Dooku then pointed at Sora. "You are also unique. With that legendary weapon, there will be no stopping our might. The Sith will once again rule the galaxy and peace shall spread. All I ask is for your allegiance. Join me in my Dark Acolytes. Together the golden age of the Sith shall rise once more."

"This guy's joking," Fayt said.

"There's no way we're joining you," Sora said.

"That's right," Cyrus said. "You're crazier than I thought. I wouldn't join that bull crap in all the money in existence." Cyrus then glared at the man in the robe on one of the repulsor-lifts.

"Do you think we should get that punk-ass Palpatine now?" Jack asked.

"No. We'd be messin' up the world's history. If we interfere in anymore stuff, everythin' would go to hell."

"Ah man…"

"So you want to pass my offer?" Dooku asked. "So be it. Then I will show you that you have made a grave mistake."

"If this is how acts in a situation like this, I don't want to see him as a merchant," Maria said with a nod from Donald. Cyrus turned his MP3 Player to "Block Lockdown" by Ludacris before the battle started. The team rushed into battle with their weapons drawn. With the power from Shadows he had absorbed earlier, Cyrus melted into his shadow and swam on the floor. Dooku used his Force Push and threw back Donald and Roger. Sophia launched her Ice Needles, along with Nel. The shards of frozen water were dodged as the count cartwheeled over the attack and slashed with his red lightsaber, knocking the two women down. Maria and Jack were able to land a few hits with Scatter Beam and Rapid Shot from behind. Before anymore shots were fired, the Sith Lord turned and raced towards them. The duo tried to get a clear shot, but the aged aristocrat was dodging and blocking their fire. As soon as he got in range, he slashed them both in a crimson flash. Mirage and Lude came in for the attack, but their attacks missed and the two received powerful slashes. Goofy charged at Dooku with his shield forward. He landed some hits at the enemy, but was then thrown forward. Fayt and Barriss were up next and were parrying blows with the enemy Sith Lord. Sora entered the fray and scored some hits with strong aerial attacks. Before Dooku could retaliate, Cyrus ambushed the foe by materializing from the floor and striking with his burning lightsaber, courtesy of his Blazing Sword. It appeared that Dooku was overwhelmed, but that was until a current of electricity traveling from Dooku shocked Cyrus, Fayt, and Sora. It was so powerful, that the attack threw the three back quite a distance. Barriss began defending against the Force Lightning. Dooku was too busy on the Mirialan Jedi to notice Roger scurrying around him. The young Menodix was dropping Land Mines on the ground. Barriss couldn't continue putting up her defense. As soon as the Jedi was exhausted, she was shocked by the lightning and hurled back a few feet. Before Dooku could move, he was hit hard by the blasts caused by Roger's explosives. After the show, Roger was ready to attack with his Fiery Axe. Unfortunately, the Dark Jedi caught him in mid-air and threw him back.

"I'm tired of playing these games," Dooku replied. He raised his left hand toward a few of the repulsor-pods. The floating platforms left their places on the falls and hovered toward Darth Tyrannus. He then lifted his other hand to the other side of the room. The enemy was controlling five pods in the air at once thanks to his mastery of the Force.

"Ho-ly shizz-nit," Cyrus emphasized in disbelief. "The old guy just went off."

"Incoming!" Ravage yelled. With complete control, Dooku bombarded the team with the platforms as they ran for their lives. Barriss was repelling with her own Force powers. Maria was also fighting back as she shot at the saucers. However, one of the repulsor-pods crashed behind the Quark captain. She was thrown off balance from the impact. She turned over and saw another saucer ready to crush her.

Cyrus, turned and saw her in danger. "Maria!" Fayt shouted in despair.

"I'm coming!" Cyrus yelped as he rushed to the woman.

In the nick of time, the dark shizznit was able to grab onto Maria, but it seemed as though it was already too late. Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared and a sphere concealed them both. The ball of light broke and revealed a new, reborn version of Cyrus. Now, the areas that were tinted red in his Brave Form were now colored blue instead and he was hovering inches off the ground. He withdrew his lightsaber and pulled out the Abysmal Offender. With one powerful blast, the repulsor-pod was thrown off course and crashed to the side on the empty ones. Dooku saw the merged warrior and turned his attention on him. Instead of running, Cyrus hovered toward the Sith Lord quickly. With a burst of speed, he dodged the platforms as they slammed to the ground. Before the count could summon anymore, Cyrus was in range and fired a magical bullet at the Dark Jedi. Dark Tyrannus was hit by the shot and was thrown into the air by the shizznit. However, he managed to recover as he spun in the air and landed on his feet. Cyrus dashed toward Dooku who shot another Force Lightning. Cyrus quickly flipped over the electric stream. While in mid-air, he fired a barrage of magic bullets. Dooku was able to deflect a few of the strikes, but most of them landed a hit and wore the Dark Jedi down in the process. Cyrus was now about to strike the foe down until the enemy countered by catching him by using Force Choke. Instead of pushing Cyrus back, Dooku pulled him close. He then raised his hand and began closing it slowly. Cyrus could feel the effects of the attack. He tried to struggle in order to breathe, but every move he made, Cyrus was weakening and slowing down by the second. His sight was becoming blurry and he could feel Dooku's power crushing his throat. It would only be a few seconds before the merged shizznit was knocked out. However, Sora, Nel, and Barriss interceded. Barriss landed a hit with her Saber Throw which was able to shatter Darth Tyrannus' concentration on the shizznit. Cyrus fell to the ground and gasped for air while he holding his neck. Sora slashed at Dooku with powerful strikes of the Keyblade as Nel catapulted to the enemy. The assault was both fast and strong. Dooku was able to block a few of the hits, but the most of them were able to penetrate. Along with Barriss, the Dark Jedi found himself to weakened. It looked like the three were ready to finish him off. However, Dooku changed the flow of battle once again with his Force Lightning. The three were thrown down by the attack. Cyrus saw this and quickly got to his feet. The shizznit was charging up a magic bullet that increased in size. Before the enemy could react, Cyrus fired a massive orb of magic at Count Dooku. The enemy tried to react, but it was too late. The attack made a direct hit with the Dark Side user. As soon as Dooku crashed to the ground, the battle was over and the Maria and Cyrus became two separate individuals.

"This… this cannot be…" Dooku said.

"Turn yourself in Dooku," Barriss said. "You've lost."

"Not yet…" Dooku pushed a small button on a brace. The ceiling above collapsed below into the center of the room. The group hurried to the repulsor-pods on still hovering at the side of the room the escape the raining debris. Cyrus counted the team to see if everyone was safe. All fourteen members were on the platforms along with the senators.

After the explosion was over, the team returned to the floor. "I have a feeling Dooku's survived," Sora said.

"That's for sure," Roger said.

"He escaped," Barriss said. "But that doesn't matter. At least the Senators are alright."

"Let's get them out of here," Nel suggested.

Sophia nodded to Nel's purposal. However, the spellcaster saw a strange light at the center of the podium. "What is that?" she asked.

The rest of the group also saw the shinning light. "I don't know," Sora said. Suddenly, the Keyblade began shaking in Sora's hand and then raised it up. "What the…?"

"It could be another one of those keyholes," Goofy said.

"I think you're right," Maria said. Sora tried to get a firm grip on the Keyblade. When he held it tightly with both hands, the tip of the weapon fired a beam of light to the podium. The path bent to the stand's floor where the keyhole glowed. The trail connected and the locking sound the group was so familiar of was heard once more.

"What was that?" Fayt said.

"It's a long story that we'll learn more about later," Cyrus said. "But right now, we need to go and get the senators outta here." The team agreed and they escorted the team outside. Before they left, Cyrus once again knelt down to the ground and held his head. Barriss saw this and saw went to his aide.

"What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong."

Cyrus was experiencing more images flooding his mind. These were more intense than the last ones. In one of the scenes, he saw a small boy, but couldn't tell who he was. _"What is happening?" _he thought to himself.

"Please answer, Cyrus."

Cyrus pushed off the floor, still feeling a stinging headache from the incident. He was sweating a bit as he held his head. The shizznit panted from the rush he had just experienced. "I'm… fine…" he replied between breaths. "Now… let's go…" Still holding his head, Cyrus walked over to the rest of the team to secure the senators. Barriss still had a look of concern as she watched Cyrus. The Jedi proceeded to leave the chamber and the team went down the elevator with the hostages.

When the team arrived outside, they saw that the fighting had ended and that the Clones were victorious. LAATs landed in the area to pick up the troops remaining troops and the senators. "We are grateful for what you did today, young Jedi," Chancellor Palpatine said as the group saw him off to one of the gunships.

"No need to thank us," Barriss said. "We're just happy that your are safe, Chancellor."

"You and your comrades were quite impressive. If you didn't come sooner, the situation would've been a grave one."

"Lucky we were in the neighborhood," Roger gloated.

"Indeed. It was a pleasure to meet you and thank you again for saving us," Padme said.

"It was nothing, ma'am," Fayt said.

"This way senators," a clone trooper said. The two were escorted to a nearby ship on their way to the Republic Executive Building, a large dome-shaped establishment a few miles from where the party stood.

"General Offee, we are ready to return to the Temple," Commander Bly said.

"Alright. Let us return."

"Yes, ma'am." The team rode in separate LAATs back to the temple.

During the trip, Cyrus sat on the side of the ship, looking at the large expanse of city that covered the entire planet. "I see you learned some new abilities since we last saw eachother," Barriss said.

Cyrus looked up at the Jedi. The Mirialan Jedi's hood was off, revealing her short black hair. "Yeah," the shizznit replied. "And I'm still trying to get the hang of 'em. It ain't easy you know. I think it all has to do with… nevermind."

"It all has to do with what?"

"It's nothing. Well, as soon as we arrive at the temple we'll be leaving."

"I understand. It was nice seeing you again, Cyrus."

"You too, Barriss."

In about an hour, the team arrived at the Temple hangar. They left the wing and headed back to the Jedi High Council. "Master Yoda, the senators have been safely rescued and are now staying at the Senate Office Building."

"Succeeded, you have," the small green Jedi Master said. "However, I fear the Dark Side is becoming stronger. Lying in wait, the shadows are. Destroyed, they are not."

"Master Yoda is right," Master Windu. "With those Heartless, Dooku will only become stronger. If this keeps up, the Sith will be unstoppable and the Separatists will continue enlisting more planets in the systems."

"It is enough that we must deal with the likes of both him and Grievous," Shaak Ti said. "Today I fear that we were only lucky. If you hadn't appeared when you did, we may not have been able to prevent this from becoming out of hand."

"Well, we do have a way of showing up when help is needed," Roger gloated.

"Is there a way to stop these Heartless?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"We don't know," Sora said. "We're still trying to figure that part out."

"The Keyholes are part of the solution," Maria said. "But it only seems to be delaying the process."

"Send a Jedi to accompany them, we shall," Yoda said. "Stop this darkness spread through the galaxy, we must."

"But who do we send?" Mace asked. "The battle that took place nearly four thousand years ago is nothing compared to this threat."

"Maybe we should allow Anakin to go on this mission," Obi Wan suggested. "With his skill, I'm sure he would be a valuable asset."

"Allow me to go with them, Master Yoda," Anakin said.

"I'm sorry, young Skywalker," Yoda replied. "You are still needed here. Someone with more experience we must send."

"More experience?"

"Who could that be?" Mace asked.

"Barriss, you must go," Yoda said.

Barriss was rather stunned to hear Yoda say that. "Me? But Master, are you sure?"

Yoda shook his head. "Between you all, I sense a strong connection. Aided them before, you have. In order to stop the darkness, a power bond, you must have."

"But, we can't do that," Goofy replied.

"That would ruin the world order," Donald said. "We already said to much as is."

"Let her come, Donald," Sora said.

"Yeah," Cyrus replied. "Remember, not only are we trying to save our friends, but we're also trying to rid the darkness that plagues our world. Barriss is trying to do the same thing. We need all the help we can get."

"Please," Barriss said. "I would be honored to join this journey. Allow me to assist you."

"Alright then, fine," Donald said reluctantly.

"Thank you," Barriss said and bowed. She then turned her attention to Yoda. "We will not fail you, Master Yoda." 

"Then it is decided," Mace said. "We will fend off these abominations for as long as it takes."

"Agreed," Shaak Ti said.

"Don't worry, you guys," Sora said. "We'll beat those Heartless!"

"Let's go, everyone," Cyrus said. "First stop, Traverse Town. Next stop… anywhere to help us stop this Heartless chumps."

"Right," Barriss said.

The group left the spire and arrived back at the front of the Temple outside. "Well Barriss, glad that you're coming."

"I am, too." With Barriss in their ranks over half of the team reunited, things appeared to be looking up. But the question that lingers in Cyrus' head is for how long will their success last? The team left the world of Coruscant, setting a course to Traverse Town, the world where a few allies awaited and their adventures first began.

* * *

Author's Note 2: Cyrus has now learned the technique, Wisdom Form. In this form, Cyrus is able to shoot powerful magical bullets at his enemies. Even though his skill in magical arts been raised, he is unable to use Martial Arts or his swords. It appears as though the mystery of Cyrus' past will be revealed. Keep reading as the saga continue. 

Author's Note 3: In the next chapter, the mystery of the Black Diamond will finally be answered. And the identity of the hooded woman who has some connection to Cyrus' past will finally be revealed. Read and review.


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Author's Note 1: There will be some spoilers to Kingdom Hearts II in this chapter. You were warned.

* * *

Part 6.1: Early Experiment

Throughout the ride on the gummi ship, Sora was being taught by Donald and Goofy how to pilot the vessel in the cockpit. The Keyblade wielder was a little wet behind the ears at first, but after a few minutes of minor collisions with small random objects, he finally got the hang of piloting. Meanwhile below, Roger and Jack worked on a project of some sort. Nel struck a chat with Mirage, Ravage and Lude. Fayt was catching up with Sophia and Maria about their current Barriss was in the middle of her session in lightsaber training, with the company of Cyrus. The two emptied their thoughts and began using their lightsabers. Their movements were smooth and elegant. The sounds of their red and blue blades humming as they glided with through elegant motion. "In order to be skilled warrior, you must be one with the Force," Barriss told Cyrus. "Allow it to flow through your body. Become one with your weapon for it is an extension of yourself. Let the Force power your spirit. Then channel your spirit through your weapon. The weapon, the spirit, and the Force are all entwined."

"The true skill comes not from the weapon, but from the soul and the heart of the warrior," Cyrus said.

"Rely on all of your senses, not just sight. Only then can you truly find the power to defeat your foe."

"Hey, you two," Roger replied. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're practicing in lightsaber combat," Barriss said.

"Somethin' up, Roge?" Cyrus asked.

"No, everything's fine. Jack and I just made something I'm sure you'll like."

"Alright then." Cyrus and Barriss deactivated their lightsabers and walked over to where Jack and the Menodix worked. On the stand was a large object covered by a sheet. "This is something that we've been working on ever since we came back."

"This will help us keep it real," Jack replied. "The words of Big Snoop shall travel with every revolution. With this, our preachings will spread. I introduce what all will use for style, what all players and O.G.'s would want for whatever purpose in life…" Jack pulled off the sheet and revealed the object. It was a large tire with two separate rims. He turned the first rim which began to spin. "The spinners! For the maximum G's."

"Man!" Cyrus said. "Those are some sweet twenty-twos, Jack! But wait, aren't those already invented?"

"Not everywhere."

"If we're going to spread the word, then we need to make a product that will help us do just that," Roger said.

"This is beginning to sound like one of those pyramid schemes," Barriss replied. "Honestly, who would spend their money to buy these 'spinners' as you call them. They're nothing more than wheels with fans in them. Cyrus, what do you have to say about this? Cyrus?"

The Mirialan turned her attention to the shizznit who was mesmerized by the tire. Even Jack who supposedly helped 'created' it was staring at it. "But it's the shizznit, Barriss," Cyrus replied in a mystified manner. "It just keep spinnin', and spinnin', and spinnin'…"

"Oh Sithspit…"

"'ey, Roger," Jack said. "Um… Tell them our deal that we're… whatever…"

"Oh yeah!" Roger said. "If you buy one pair of these large spinners, you get two smaller pairs for free!"

"Just like a pyramid scheme," Barriss said.

"What's going on here?" Fayt asked as he and Lude walked over to the area.

Lude only stared at the two with subtle eyes. He sighed, and walked between the stunned duo and the spiffed-up tire. "It's always the spinning rims," he said to himself while shaking his head. Without much effort, he place a finger on one of the rim's fins to stop it from turning.

"Oh, come on," Cyrus replied. "They spinnin' man, and they spinnin'!"

"I was instantly gratified," Jack whined. "Why'd you have to do that?"

"What is it with you two and turning-based objects?" Lude asked.

"What are you talking about?" Cyrus asked.

"You're paralyzed when you see propellers."

"I am not."

"I was talking about Jack."

"Hey, that's not true! It's only breakdance moves and certain Capoiera attacks."

"Tell that to the windmills in the hills near Tracey Boulevard."

"They're big! I only stare at them because you don't know when they'll fall off."

"Spinning rims?" Fayt asked. "I don't understand it. They're just tires with fans in them."

"To tell you the truth, neither do I."

"Well, I'm goin' to take some shuddeye." Cyrus walked over to the engine generator and sat against it. The hums of the machinery were enough to lull the shizznit to sleep. However, Cyrus would get another visit from the memories of a past long since forgotten. Once again, Cyrus saw himself back in Hallow Bastion. This time, he was in its Grand Hall. It was a large room with six containment units on the walls of the entry way. Two stairways on different sides of the room led to a raised platform with a console and a strange portal filled with a large mass of energy shaped like the Heartless symbol. "I know this place. But why am I here?"

On top of the heightened platform, a man in a lab coat with silver hair walked up to the front. "Do you have the subjects?" he asked.

"Yes, Ansem," a man with long blonde hair said.

He picked up a young girl who was seven years of age and sleeping. She had short red hair with blue bangs and a black skirt. "Stop it!" she yelled "Let me go!"

"Good, Even. And the other, Dilan? Is he here?"

"Right here, as promised," a man with long black hair said.

He showed a dark skinned six year old boy with a black zipper sweater and black jeans. The child also had a short afro. "Get off of me!" he shouted. "Back off, 'else im'a go off on you!"

Cyrus stared at the him in shock. "I can't believe it…" the stunned shizznit said. "That boy… That boy is me…" His eyes were wide and his mouth gaped as he stared at the boy's attempts to struggle free.

"What do you want us to do with these children?" Dilan asked.

"Put them in the containment units," Ansem said. "Let the first test commence."

"As you wish," Even said. The two opened two chambers and shoved the children in the capsules. Ansem began pressing different commands and turning knobs and switches. The two children were being zapped by black colored surges of dark energy. With every shock, the children squinted. The two lab assistants only watched as their 'guinea pigs' suffered through the tormenting event.

Cyrus could feel the pain his younger self had to endure. The symbols on his arms started to flash dark red. After a few minutes of watching the horror, the containment units were opened. The girl and the younger version of Cyrus were laying unconscious. "It seems that their hearts and bodies are still intact," Dilan said.

"How odd?" Ansem said. "Normally the experiments would become those creatures of darkness."

"Could it be because they're from a different world?" Even asked.

"There could be another reason," Ansem said. "Take the children back to the dungeon."

"Yes, sir," both men said to the superior. They picked up the juveniles' bodies and left the room. Ansem pondered what just occurred as he placed a hand on his chin.

"_Was this another memory?"_ Cyrus thought to himself. _"Or is it a nightmare?" _The young shizznit collapsed on his knees. His arms were the only things keeping him off the ground. _"How come I can't remember this until now? And this scene, did it take place before the last image I had?"_

Before Cyrus could think of anything else, there was a large flash of light that consumed his surroundings and blinded him. "Cyrus," a kind voice said. "It's time to go." When Cyrus opened them back up, he found himself back on the gummi ship. Maria had her hand on his shoulder, the place where she shook him.

"Are we at Traverse Town?" Cyrus asked.

Maria nodded. "We just arrived. I'm sure this won't take too long."

"Okay then." The shizznit stood up and left the ship with the Quark captain. They rejoined their comrades who pushed open the main gates of the town and entered.

* * *

Author's Note 2: Just incase you're interested, I'm working on another story in the Star Wars genre. It will have a whole new story line with a new set of characters (mainly canon, but I'm sure there will be at least two or three OCs). It's a must read if you're into Star Wars and slang in the same setting, then this is for you.

* * *

Part 6.2: Lurking Dangers

The team walked into town and looked around for Leon. As the team searched around the First District, Cyrus, Barriss, Nel, Jack, and Fayt went to the Accessories Shop to see if they could find the swordsman. "Hey, long time no see," Cid said.

"What up, C?" Cyrus replied.

"Nothing much. So, can I help you?"

"Sure, we're lookin' for a certain homie by the name of Leon, know what I'm sayin'?" Jack said.

"By any chance have you seen him?" Nel asked.

"Leon, huh?" Cid said as he put began to think. "Sorry, I'm afraid I can't help you there. In fact, I haven't seen him since you guys left."

"Thank you for your time," Fayt said. The blue-haired swordsman turned to his comrades and asked, "What do we do now?"

"Perhaps I can help," a girl at the door said. The team turned around and saw a smiling Yuffie standing by the entrance. "Hey, everyone!"

"Hey, Yuffie," Cyrus said. "Glad to see you."

"You too. So are these the friends you're talking about?"

"Correct," Nel said. "This is Jack, Barriss, and Fayt."

"Nice to meet you," Fayt said. "Anyways, do you know where we can find Leon?"

"Of course!" Yuffie replied. "Leon is training at a place near the alleyway. It's sorta secret and not many people know where it is."

"Could you show us?" Barriss asked.

"Of course."

"Thanks a lot," Cyrus said.

"I'll get everyone together," Nel said. "Meet us at the entrance to the Second District."

"Gotcha," Jack said.

The team waited for by the district gates for Nel's return. During that time, Cyrus began sensing a strange power in his diamond. He held it up and saw a slight glow of dark purple. _"I wonder why the stone's acting up?" _he thought to himself.

"Hey, we're back," Sora said.

"Well, are you guys ready?" Yuffie asked.

"Of course," said Ravage. "We need some of his advice if we are to continue our mission."

The group nodded and followed the ninja out the door. The team faced large numbers of Heartless. The ones that the group had problems with were the Large Bodies and the flying Air Soldiers. Time after time, the enemies were healed by the small flying foes known as Green Requiem. In the end, the efforts of Yuffie and the rest of the team paid off and they arrived at the end of the Alleyway in front of a barred entrance. "This is it. Leon normally trains here."

"I wonder how we get in?" Roger asked.

"There must be a weak bar," Lude said. "But which one, I don't know."

Barriss shook her head slightly and walked open to the closed entrance. She then pulled out the hilt of her lightsaber and activated its blue blade. With what seemed to be only one swift slash, the bars fell in small sliced pieces to the ground. She turned off her weapon and attached the handle back to her belt. "Are we ready?" she asked in a simple tone.

Fayt walked over to Yuffie and bowed. "Thank you for your help."

"Hey, don't sweat it," the ninja said. "Well, I gotta go. Take care you guys!"

"So long!" Donald replied. The group entered the secret waterway where they found Leon training with his Gunblade. "Leon!"

The swordsman turned around and at the group and leaned against the wall. "You guys are back," he said. "And I see you're on the right track." He then looked at the Keyblade with a somewhat interested look.

"Leon, we wanted to know…" Sora said before Leon interjected.

"So, you found the Keyholes."

"Uh… Yeah," Sora said.

Cyrus was also amazed how Leon knew without them saying anything. "Man, he's good," the shizznit whispered to Mirage. The Klausian nodded in response.

"The Keyblade locked it automatically."

"That's good," a woman's voice said. They turned to the doorway and saw Aerith walking in with drinks on plates. "That's why you're Keyblade is so special."

"Could you tell us about the Keyholes?" Maria asked as Aerith passed around drinks to the group.

"In Ansem's Reports, every world amongst the stars have a Keyhole," Leon said after he turned down a drink from Aerith. "Each Keyhole leads directly to the Heart of the World."

"The Heart of the World?" Fayt asked. "Then that would mean there might be one here too."

Leon nodded. "That's what I'm thinking. The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and steal its heart."

"What happens when they take it?" Nel asked.

"Then the world and everything on it disappears."

"What?" everyone shouted in response.

"So that's why your Keyblade is so important," Ravage said.

"Please lock all the Keyholes," Aerith said. "You're the only one who can."

"I don't know…" Sora said.

"Seeing other worlds is something that would fit you, wouldn't it?" Leon asked.

"That's right!" Donald said.

"And we need to find your friends!" Goofy added. "And King Mickey, too!"

"I guess you're right…" Sora replied with slight hesitation. "Okay, count me in!"

"I already asked Cid to take a look at the ship," Aerith said.

"Really?" Cyrus asked. "Thanks a lot. Oh, hold up for a sec." Cyrus turned to Donald and asked, "Do you still have that gummi?"

"Yeah, it's right here." The mage pulled the block from his pocket and handed it to Cyrus.

"Leon, you know what this one's for? It's kinda different from the others."

The swordsman studied the object, but had no answer. "Maybe you should take it to Cid," Aerith said. "He's an expert in gummi blocks."

"That sounds like a good idea," Jack said.

"Sora, before you leave, take this." Leon gave Sora a small shiny stone. "That stone has a mysterious power. I've been holding it for good luck. And now, I want you to have it."

"Gee, thanks," Sora said. "But how do you use it?"

Once again, Leon pondered. "Maybe we'll find out later on," Sophia said.

"I think you're right."

"Well, back to the shop," Lude said. "And thank you for your assistance."

"We're glad we can be of help," Aerith said. The team left the waterway and headed to the Accessories Shop. As they passed through the Second District, Cyrus looked up at the sky and saw a shooting star. However, the dark shizznit sensed that it wasn't just a regular comet. "What was that?" he asked himself.

"What was what?" Goofy asked.

"Is something wrong, Cyrus?" Barriss asked.

"Oh, my bad. Just thought a Heartless using the swiftness."

Goofy scratched his head as Barriss shrugged her shoulders. The two caught up with the group. Cyrus looked up at the sky with wary eyes. _"Something's coming,"_ he thought. _"Something familiar… But what?"_

He took a second to take in all of his surrounding before rejoining the team at the door to the First District. The group of fourteen arrived back in the Accessory Shop and greeted once again by Cid. "Didn't expect to see you again so soon," he said.

"Well, you are our favorite storekeeper," Ravage quipped. "But unfortunately, we do not have time for such formalities."

"So, what can I help you with?"

"We have ourselves a new gummi that we got from one of the worlds," Cyrus said. "But we don't have a clue on how to use it."

"Let me see." Cyrus gave the block to Cid who began to inspect it. "I can't believe it! You guys are telling me you're riding in a gummi ship and you have no idea on how to use a navigation gummi! What a bunch of pinheads!"

"There's a lot of stuff that we don't know," Sora protested. "What about it! We need to use the gummi ship to go to different worlds!"

"He's right," Fayt agreed. "Without it, we wouldn't be able to stop the Heartless or rescue our friends."

"Alright you two, settle down," Cid replied. "I get, okay? Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you a hand."

"Thank you," Fayt said.

"So, what's a navigation gummi anyway?" Donald asked.

"Basically, it's a gummi that allows you to travel to other worlds further than the ones in this system," Cid clarified. "Do you want it?"

"Yes we do," Mirage said.

"Okay, I'll install it for you. Free of charge. But you have to do something for me?"

"And what, pray tell, is your request?" Lude asked with his arms folded and an uninterested look on his face.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase 'give and take'?" Cid asked with a small but wicked grin and a vein popping on the corner of his head.

"Okay, please proceed," the slightly intimidated Lude said.

"Well, I have this really old book that I want you to deliver." Cid handed the book to Sora.

"So what is it?" Sora asked. "A love diary or something?"

"No! When it was first brought to me, the thing was falling apart. After a little work, I got it back together. Unfortunately, it's not restored the way it was, but I did a pretty decent job of it."

"So, where do you want us to go?" Sophia asked as Sora handed her the book.

"I want you to give it back to that guy. He lives in a house just on the other side of the Third District. It's on the other side of a door with a fire sign. You can't miss it."

"Okay, we will. And thanks again."

Suddenly, a loud chime was heard followed by a small tremor. Roger fell to the ground while the rest of the group were rocked by the rattle. "What was that!" Goofy asked.

"That was the bell at the Gizmo Shop in the First District," Cid said. "You guys could check it out, but deliver that book first. When you're done, I'll meet you at that house in the Third District."

"Man, first you want us to go to one guys house and now you're telling us to go to yours?" Jack replied. "What do we look like, UPS?"

"Cracker Jack!" hissed Cyrus. "Um… What he means is we'll be there." The team left the shop and went to the Third District.

* * *

Part 6.3: Hidden Elements

As soon as the team stepped foot in the center of the Third District, they were ambushed by a huge number of Heartless. Surrounded on all sides, the team surveyed the area. "It looks like we have quite an opposition," Ravage said.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Maria replied.

"This is going to be fun," Sora said.

"Let's make these chumps regret messing with us," Cyrus said.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Jack replied.

The team spread out. Cyrus slashed with powerful strokes from his Abysmal Offender at a group of Soldiers. Before one of them could counterattack, Cyrus quickly sunk into his shadow and swam in the ground to where the enemy landed. He then jumped back up and slashed at the Soldier. From above, a small cluster of Air Soldiers were swooping in on him while a few Yellow Operas used their Thunder attacks. The shizznit dodged the lightning that struck the field and leapt into the air. As soon as he made contact with the enemies, he slashed at the foes with the cursed sword, wiping them all out in mid-air. When he landed, he met up with both Nel and Barriss. "Nel, you up for it?"

"I'm ready, Cyrus," Nel said. Cyrus merged with Nel into his Valor Form and teamed up with Barriss. The two went in different directions, slicing and dicing the Heartless. The warriors jumped on the walls and bounced off their surfaces. While in the air, both Cyrus and Barriss were being tailed by enemies from behind. As soon as the two crossed paths, they began slashing away at their pursuers before landing on the ground. The battle was over as the rest of the group finished off their opponents and Cyrus reverted back to two separate beings.

"Now, where were we?" Donald said.

"I found the door over here," Fayt said as he led the group to the entrance. Just like Cid said, the door had a large fire symbol on it along with a few letters. "The problem is it won't open."

"I wonder why?" Roger asked.

"Maybe it needs to be lit with fire to get it opened?" Mirage said.

"Let's see," Sora replied. He pointed his Keyblade at the door and used his Fire attack. The flame hit the symbol directly and opened. "Well, let's go."

The group went through the path and found themselves on the shore of a lake. In front of them were four large rocks moving side to side on the surface. The rocks led to a small island with an old house that looked like it was in disrepair. "At least the guy knows how to pick his crib," Cyrus quipped. "Lakeside property doesn't come cheap."

"A rickety old house in the middle of a big puddle?" Donald sneered. "Some taste. What were his other options?"

"Let's go inside and deliver the book to him," Fayt said. The swordsman went ahead of the group as he carefully hopped from one rock to another.

"Wait for us!" Mirage replied. The team hurried caught up to the blue haired swordsman and arrived on the island. They tried to open the front door, but it was locked. Luckily, they found another way in through the side of the house. The inside of the house was empty and cold. There was a raised pillar in the center with a stairway surrounding it. There were also a ripped drape or two.

"I thought somebody lived here." Nel said. "Where did he go?"

"Maybe he went on a vacation?" Goofy said.

"Even if he did, there would at least be something here," Sophia replied.

"What do you think happened Sora?" Maria asked. She turned to the spike haired Keyblade wielder and found him in a trance.

"Sora?" called Goofy.

Sora snapped out of his daze and turned back to where he stared. "I thought…" before Sora could say another word, smoke appeared through the entrance they came. "What's that?"

As the group cleared out the smoke, a man with a long white beard appeared in the home. He wore a blue robe, long blue slippers and a tall pointy hat. He also had a pair of glasses. "My, it was good to see Arthur again. Now all I need to do is work on my landings." He then noticed the team standing around in his abode with confusion. The man turned to Sora and smile. "Well, well… You arrived sooner than I expected."

"What does he mean by that?" Jack asked.

"You knew we were coming?" Sora asked.

"That I did, my boy," the old man said.

"Does that mean you're a Heartless?"

"He doesn't look like a Heartless…" Donald said.

"Heavens no," said the man. "Please, let me introduce myself. I am Merlin, a sorcerer."

"Merlin?" Ravage said. "I've heard of you. Your skills in spellcasting is well known across the universe. You drove off a horde of wicked monsters and spirits then banished them to another dimension. I thought it was a myth."

"He's known from your dimension?" Lude asked. "What a coincidence. We also heard tales of him too. The legend goes that he was a powerful mage who was a mentor of King Arthur. With his help, the king was able to pull out the sword Escalabar and build a strong European city known as Camelot during the early fourteenth century."

"Well I do my time traveling not only through time, but space as well."

"That's amazing!" Sora replied.

"But that doesn't matter. It's just good to be home again. Anyway, I was sent by King Mickey to aide you in your quest."

"King Mickey?" Goofy asked.

"That's right. Donald and Goofy, I presume. And who might you be?"

"I'm Sora."

"Of course. And I see you have found the key."

"So what did the King ask you to do?" Goofy asked.

"One moment." Merlin set his bag on the ground. "Now if you all could please move away from the center platform…" The party near the raised column stepped off as Merlin walked up the stairs and pulled out his wand. "If anyone here likes magic, then you're going to love this." With a flick of his wand, the travel bag opened. He then began dancing in his place while swishing his wand. One by one, furniture hovered to different areas of the room. Each piece began to expand from a few inches to their large sizes. After a few minutes, the room was filled shelves and books. On the column the wizard stood on was a table with teacups and spoons and a chair where he sat. "Ah, that's better."

"That was wonderful!" Sophia exclaimed. "I need to taught that the next time I go on vacation!"

"Really?" Fayt whispered to Cyrus. "I thought you already did that before we went to Hyda IV."

Cyrus snickered before the two heard Sophia clear her throat. They turned to see the brunette frowning at them. "What are you two talking about?" she asked.

"Oh… Nothing," Fayt said.

Fayt scratched the back of his head while chuckling nervously. "I'm gonna be over here…" Cyrus said as he pointed to a spot on the other side of the room. He left his fellow swordsman to deal with the young woman's scorn.

"What was it that the King asked you to do?" Donald asked.

"Your King asked me to train you in the art of magic," Merlin said. "Especially you, Sora."

"Why is that?" Sora asked as he sat in a chair.

"Because you rely on the Keyblade instinctively. In order for you be victorious on your journey, you must learn to control your power. Use your heart and brains, my boy, and you will succeed. And I also have a friend here with me."

"Really?" Goofy asked.

"Where is he?" Roger asked. "I don't see anything."

Just then, light began to shimmer around a small horse carriage. "What's that?" Nel asked.

"That's her," Merlin said.

In a flash of light, a middle aged woman in a blue hooded cloak appeared on the scene. "A pleasure to meet you," she said. "I'm the Fairy Godmother. Your King has also called for my services. I will do whatever I can to aid you on your adventure."

"I got it." The Keyblade wielder sat got up and was about to leave the table. That was until he remembered about the book Cid gave them. "Oh yeah. Here's the book we got from the Accessory Shop."

Merlin received the book and got up from his large chair. "That book…" Merlin said. "I see that Cid asked you to bring it here. Thank you."

"So what is it, anyway?" Sora asked.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know myself."

"Really?" Cyrus asked. "Sorry for gettin' heavy on you, but how did you get it?"

"That's a very good question. I found it in my bag one day while I was traveling. I tried to read it, but it was too beat up. I asked Cid to repair it for me. And it seems he has done a good job of it. But I see there are a few pages that are missing." Merlin stopped and laid the book on a desk. "I'll put it here so that you can look at it whenever you want."

"So, what can we do?" Lude asked.

"If it's not too much trouble, would you please find the missing pages? A book has a world as well. It would be terrible if it was never completed."

"Alright," Barriss said. "If we find them, we'll be sure to return them to the book."

"Thank you very much. Oh, and about those stones of yours…" Merlin said to Sora and Cyrus. "The Fairy Godmother may help you with those."

"Alright," Cyrus said. Both he and Sora went to the magician with their items.

"Fairy Godmother, can you tell us about these stones?" Sora asked.

"Oh, poor dears! They turned into summon gems."

"Summon gems?" Cyrus asked. "I thought they were strange rocks?"

"They were once individuals from other worlds. That was until the Heartless arrived. When a world is consumed by the darkness, its inhabitants also disappear. But they had strong hearts and survived as gems."

"Can they regain themselves?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but only in spirit temporarily. Now watch this!" The Fairy Godmother pulled out her wand and began to swish it from side to side. "Bibbity, bobbity, boo!" With a flash of light from both gems, the two sensed the powers from the stones intensify.

"_Whoa!"_ Cyrus thought. _"The power in the black diamond has just spiked!"_

"Whenever you call them, they will do whatever they can to help you. If you find anymore, please bring them to me."

"What about their worlds?" Sora asked.

"Don't worry. Once their worlds are restored, they will return. Please, save them."

"We will, Fairy Godmother," Cyrus said. He then looked at the black diamond and smiled. "With this baby, here, there will be nothing in our way."

"I guess it's time to go," Maria said.

"Good luck on your journey!" Merlin said.

The group left the house and returned to the Third District. "Now we have more stuff to find aside from those Ansem's Reports," Donald said.

"Yeah," Cyrus said. "Who woulda thought we'd so much work so early?"

"Hey, as long as we're together, it shouldn't be that much of a problem," Sora said with a grin.

"Good point."

Suddenly, a Soldier appeared out of nowhere and pounced on Sora. "Watch out!" Sophia shrieked. But it was too late. The Heartless had already landed on the Keyblade wielder's back. Caught off guard, it looked like the enemy had the upper hand. That was until the foe was reduced to smoke in a split second. Sora, was completely dazed. "What just happened?"

"You were goofing around again," a voice said. "Then again, I'm not that surprised." Sora turned around and his stunned face grew to a wide smile. It was a boy at fifteen years of age with short white hair, a yellow shirt, blue pants, and black and white sneakers. In his hand, he wielded a dark colored sword shaped like a bat wing.

"Riku?" Sora replied. "Is that really you?" He walked closer to the boy and began stretching his face by the cheeks.

"Hey, quit it!" Riku said in a friendly manner.

"So I'm not dreaming, this time."

"I hope not. It took forever to find you."

"So that's Riku, huh?" Maria asked.

"I wonder if he was here the entire time?" Nel asked.

"Good question," Lude said. "Hey, what's that thing, anyway?"

"That sword is the Souleater," Cyrus said. "It's a special weapon that supposedly works like the Keyblade."

"I thought it was. You know, it kinda resembles your Abysmal Offender."

"Yeah," Jack said. "I could see why."

"It's probably a coincidence," Cyrus said. "I'm sure there are many cursed swords floating around." _"Or are there…?"_

"So isn't Kairi with you?" Riku asked. Sora lowered his head in a sad expression. "Oh, don't worry about it. She might have made it off the island, too." The wielder of the Souleater chuckled. He then looked up at the sky with a grin and said, "We're finally free. We can go anywhere we want now. Hey, maybe Kairi's looking for us, too. It won't be long until we're all together again." Riku didn't notice, but a Shadow had appeared behind him and was silently approaching the boy.

"Um… Riku…" Roger called as he pointed at the enemy.

"Just leave everything to me." The Heartless leapt at Riku, who still had no idea about the foe. "I know this place-" Before Riku could finish his sentence, Sora struck the creature down in a split second. When the boy turned around, he saw Sora in a stance and black smoke dispersing from the spot he stood.

"Leave it to who?" asked Sora.

"Sora, what did you just-?"

"I've been looking for you and Kairi too. With their help, of course."

Riku's face faded from a smile to a plain expression. "So who are they?"

Donald cleared his throat and started to intrude himself. "My name is-"

However, Sora cut him off in mid sentence. "We've been looking for you and Kairi in so many places and worlds."

"Well, isn't that nice. I never would have known."

"And guess what?" Goofy said. "Sora's been chosen by the Keyblade."

"Who woulda thought it," Donald sneered.

"It's unbelievable, really," Maria said.

"What are you two talking about!" Sora retorted.

"This must be the Keyblade everyone's talking about," Riku said. The group turned their attention toward the boy and saw the Keyblade in his hand.

"Huh?" Sora replied as he learned that the Keyblade wasn't in his hands.

"How did he do that?" Goofy asked.

"Color me confused, dog," Cyrus replied.

"Hey, come on!" Sora said.

Riku stared at the weapon for a minute or two. "Here." In a quick second, the Keyblade was returned to Sora's hands magically.

"Now that was weird," Donald said. "Sora can't even do that even if he tried."

"How did he do that?" Sophia asked. "I thought only Sora could hold the Keyblade."

"Okay, so are you coming with us?" Sora asked. "We have this awesome ship! You have to see it!"

"Yeah, Riku," Roger said. "Come on!"

"No!" Donald said abruptly. "He can't come!"

Sora turned to the mage and glared. "What! Why not?"

"For one thing, we don't have enough room!"

"But he's my best friend!"

"I don't care!"

"Hey, where did he go?" Nel asked.

Sora turned around and saw his friend had vanished without a trace. "Riku?" he called. All that he got was no response. "Nice going, Donald."

"Sora…" Donald said.

"Oh well. At least he's okay." Sora smiled to his teammates. "Hey, maybe we'll meet him again. Maybe even Kairi, too."

Cyrus put a hand on his shoulder. "Now that's what I'm talking about, homes," he said. "And Donald, remember what you said about space?"

"Yeah," the mage said. "We won't be able to bring fit anymore people in our gummi ship."

"Not to worry," Nel said.

"We have it taken care of," Maria said.

"What are you three up to?" Fayt asked.

"You'll know soon enough," Nel replied.

"I wonder what it could be," Goofy said.

"Hey everyone!" a girl replied. The group looked up at the rail above near the entrance to the Second District. "Over here, you guys!" Waving her hand towards the group was Yuffie, as cheery as ever. "Did you guys finish that thing Cid asked you to do?"

"Yeah," Sora said. "We just met Merlin and gave him back his book."

"Great! Come up here quick!"

"What's going on?" Mirage asked.

"We're going to have our first meeting in our new headquarters!"

"Then what are we waitin' for?" Cyrus said. "Let's get our game on!"

The team went up the stair and followed Yuffie. She led them to a house on the far side of the Third District. Inside, Leon, Cid, and Aerith were sitting on the floor waiting for the team. "Hey, everyone! We're back!"

However, instead of a warm welcome, the atmosphere was rather droll and upsetting. "Did we come at a bad time?" Donald asked.

"Have you guys ever heard of Maleficent?" Leon asked. "I heard she's in town."

"No," Yuffie said. "Not her…"

"Male-who?" Sora asked.

"A witch, man, she's a witch!" Cid replied.

"It's because of her our world is gone," Yuffie said. "She has been controlling the Heartless ever since."

"So Donald was right," Maria said. "They really are being controlled by someone."

"One day, a swarm of Heartless spread throughout our world," Leon explained. "It was chaos. Buildings were reduced to rubble and countless people lost their hearts. We were helpless to stop them and were separated by our friends and family. And that was nine years ago."

"I was one of the few to get out of that mess," Cid said. "Lucky for me that I came with these guys."

"I'm sorry about what happened," Fayt apologized. "We have been through the very same thing."

"That's right," Sophia said. "The Executioners deleted almost everything in their path, including Earth, and numerous lives were lost during that time."

"From what I am hearing, my calculations are starting to become inconclusive," Cyrus said. "But if Maleficent is controlling the Heartless, why was your world her prime target?"

"Our leader was a wise man named Ansem," Aerith explained. "He worked his whole life researching the Heartless and wrote his findings in a journal. With that journal, we'll know how to get rid of the Heartless."

"But if Maleficent gets the journal, she'll have complete dominance over the Heartless," Ravage said.

"She'll be a powerful force to be reckoned with," Lude said.

"The situation gets worse," Cid replied. "I think that she already has most of the pages."

"Let's stop her!" Sora replied. "If that's true, then what are we standing around here for?"

"It's time to finish off the witch and give her an ass whoopin' she'll never forget!" Jack said.

Cid grinned. "Now that's what I'm talking about. As promised, I installed that navigation gummi. I also added a warp gummi just for the hell of it."

"A warp gummi?" Goofy asked.

"What's that do?" Donald asked.

"Those are really useful," Cid said. "You can use that to jump back to worlds you've already been too."

"Sounds useful for when you're on the go," Roger said.

"It is. I'll tell you what, after you guys figure out the bell at the Second District, meet me back at the First District doing my real job."

"Real job?" Barriss asked. "I thought you were a clerk in the Accessory Store?"

"Nope. That was just a favor asked from a friend of mine. Like I said, after you're done with that business, I'll show you what I really do."

"Alright then," Sora said.

Aerith had her hand on her chin and was deep in self thought. "Is something wrong?" Mirage asked.

"Oh. Well, I was just wondering about that bell," Aerith said.

"You mean the one that rang a while ago?" Sora asked.

"That's the one," Yuffie said. "It's over the Gizmo Shop. There have been legends surrounding that thing, you know."

"Unfortunately, it's all boarded up," Aerith reported. "There hasn't been anyone up in years."

"Hell, I doubt that'll stop you guys," Cid said. "Go up there and ring it three times."

"Okay, we will," Nel said. "Maybe it will help us get closer to stopping the Heartless."

"At least in this town, anyway," Cyrus said. "Let's do it."

* * *

Part 6.4: The Darkness Within

The team left the house and were outside. They were about to leave for the Second District, until they heard the sound of a woman's chortle. "That can't be…" Nel said. "It's impossible…" The group hurried to the barrier and looked over it.

With a smile on her face, the team stared at their old, but weakened enemy, Lystara Catalysta. "Hello everyone, it's good to see you again," she said.

"You…" Fayt said.

"Who is that?" Sora asked.

"That is Lystara Catalysta. She's a bitch who tried to take over all dimensions and also destroyed them. We supposedly defeated her, but that was before Elicoor II was filled with Heartless and we ended up being separated."

"It's good to see you all again, too," Lystara said. "Barriss, I never thought you would appear again."

"Sorry to ruin your plans so early," Barriss said.

"You don't need to worry about that. You see, everyone's invited to annihilation. If you wish to die along with these insects, be my guest."

"There's no way, you'll stop us!" Donald said as he hopped on the barricade.

"That's right!" Goofy shouted.

"Why don't you go so you don't loose twice," Roger said as he jumped onto the barricade.

"I'm touched by the fact you care about me," Lystara said. "I will go, but before I do, I want to leave you all with a gift."

Lystara moved to the side to show the team the 'gift'. Cyrus' eyes were wide open as he saw that it was the same girl he has been talking to. "It's you!" Cyrus replied. At that statement, Lystara turned to the team and gave a malevolent smile. She then opened a wormhole and left the scene.

"You know her?" Sophia asked.

"That's right," the girl said. "He and I have a certain connection in the past." She pulled off her hooded robe to reveal a long trench coat with no hood. It was unzipped, revealing a short sleeveless shirt with the face that had bright yellow eyes and a jagged mouth similar to a Heartless. She wore heavy black pants. Her hair was short blood red with long blue bangs infront of her face. Her eyes were also red just like Cyrus'.

"I don't know what this thing from the past is."

"Man, Cyrus," Jack said. "Even the ladies that you don't even know or never met want you."

"Who are you?" Cyrus asked. "It doesn't make sense. I don't even know your name! You're the reason I'm having those flashbacks!"

"No, my friend. You're the reason you're having the flashbacks."

"The flashbacks?" Maria asked.

"Ever since that first time I used a Drive Form, I've been getting these strange images in my head," Cyrus said. "Whatever they are, she's involved."

"Those are the hidden memories that have been forgotten through all these years," the girl said. "Look at me closely, and you'll know who."

Cyrus leapt off the barrier and studied the girl carefully. As he did, he slowly took small steps closer to her. It wasn't until they were three feet away that he began to have images of a younger version of her, including the one from his early memory before they came to Traverse Town. "Your name… It's…"

"That's right, Cyrus," she said in anticipation. "What is my name?"

"… Kaize. You're Kaize Mercer."

Many members of the team were surprised to say the least when a smile formed on her face. "You're right. How long has it been? Nine years?"

"What happened nine years ago?"

"For someone who has a 198 IQ, you're rather slow at grasping a subject."

Cyrus growled and his dark aura surrounded his body and intensified. "Only when it doesn't make sense."

"As much as I want to tell you, I can't indulge you with that information. That's something you must learn yourself."

"Come on!"

"In the meantime, let's see how strong you've grown since we last met." Kaize said as pools of darkness formed around her. Emerging from them were eight Shadow Heartless. However, they weren't the variety that Cyrus and the rest of the team were used to. This was a new breed. The Shadows that arrived on the scene were larger and more developed. The antennae were tappering and their arms were longer tipped with sharp claws. The legs were also longer and slender. "What the hell are those?" Cyrus replied.

"These are Neoshadows, more powerful versions of the enemies you've faced. It's true that Maleficent controls most Heartless, but I was imbued the ability to control these types. Thanks to the augments done on me after the event nine years ago, my powers have increased. The powers of darkness are at my disposal."

"That's… That's just wrong…"

"Yo homie!" Jack called as he and the team came down the steps. "We got yo' back!"

"Not likely." Kaize summoned a powerful gale that stopped the group in their place. At the same time, a dark purple flame surrounded the entire area. "This is only between me and Cyrus. I want no one to interfere in this strife."

"Fine…" Cyrus said. _"Wait, I know what to do,"_ he thought. He put his hand in his pant pocket and pulled out his black diamond. _"If I can't call help from outside, then I'll have to call it from the inside."_ "I summon the power of the black diamond to aide me in this battle!" he yelled as he held up the gem. Suddenly, thick smoke engulfed the shizznit and the light of two red eyes pierced through it. With an eerie growl, the creature raised its large jaws over the cloud. After a minute, the smoke dispersed. "You're not the only one to summon anything," Cyrus said. The creature stood behind Cyrus. It was about twelve feet long and six feet high. The body was covered in black scales and long spines ran from the back to the end of its tail. It was armed with razor sharp teeth and large claws on its three fingered hands. The feet were also tipped with sharp claws and the second toe carried a large sickle-shaped claw. "I want you to meet my new friend Dark Deinon." The raptor walked around Cyrus and roared toward the Neoshadows and Kaize.

"So you summoned an extinct lizard, I see," Kaize said cooly. She wrapped the left bang with her fingers with nonchalance. "Let's see how you and your prehistoric pet hold up."

"Get her, Cyrus!" Roger said.

Cyrus gave him and the rest of the team a thumbs up. "We plan to," he replied. Cyrus pulled out both his lightsaber and his Abysmal Offender. The raptor hunched down, raising its hands and opening its jaws.

"Attack!" Kaize yelled as she pointed her finger to the shizznit and his dinosaur. "The Encounter" from Kingdom Hearts II played in the background. The Neoshadows leapt above them and were ready to strike. The two got out of the way just before the attacks hit.

Four of the enemies were rushing toward Cyrus. They disappeared in small pools of darkness. Cyrus stood in a guard pose, waiting for the foes to show themselves. The Heartless jumped and began to spin their bodies like disks. Cyrus blocked the blows and countered with powerful strikes of his own. However, these Heartless proved to be quicker than he thought. Half of the slashes he made didn't make contact with the targets. As he focused on one, others began to jump him from behind. Cyrus quickly evaded the claws of the Heartless and retaliated. He spun his lightsabers in both hands and sliced at the Neoshadow. The creature was weakened by attack and was finished off with a strong downward strike. Another from the side was jumped toward Cyrus. The shizznit sidestepped before it landed. "So you guys like to fly, huh?" Cyrus ran toward the Heartless and sent him in the air with a powerful kick. The enemy was slightly stunned when it landed on the ground. The shizznit saw his chance and used a few martial arts style kicks to finish it off.

Meanwhile, the Dark Deinon was surrounded by Neoshadows. It roared just before an enemy dashed toward it. The raptor saw the attack coming and sliced the enemy with its claws. The enemy slide backwards from the hit. That attack sent the other three on the offense. The raptor jumped over the attacking foes and was about to land on the one it attacked. The beast landed on top of it and was about to bite its head, but that was before the enemy sunk into the ground. Two Neoshadows were coming in to attack it from behind. The Dark Deinon was hit with the claws of one enemy, but it struck back with a swing of its tail. The other tried to attack from above. The raptor quickly turned around and leapt into the air. The two were ten feet off the ground before they made impact. The raptor grabbed onto the airborne enemy and began to kick rapidly. It was using its version of Raptor's Revenge. The Heartless slammed on the ground with the dinosaur on top. The creature's jaws latched on to the head of the large Shadow and bit hard. The body of the Heartless became nothing but a patch of thin smoke rising from the ground. Before it could react, the three Neoshadows began their attack, slicing and clawing at the raptor.

However, the foes were thrown back by Cyrus. The two found themselves surrounded by the remaining five enemies. The situation was tight as the foes closed in on them. At the last second, Cyrus used his Saber Throw, destroying one of the weakened Heartless and attacked with his summon beast. Two Neoshadows were coming in from the back, but the two turned around and began slashing at the enemies. Whatever slice that Cyrus made with his swords, the Dark Deinon did the same with the claws on its front limbs. One of the enemies hid before it was destroyed with the other. It joined with the other two on the other side. Both the shizznit and the raptor raced toward the enemies and used Raptor's Revenge. The powerful kicks were able to destroy two of the foes before they could attack. Now it was all down to the last Neoshadow. Either through bravery, or shear stupidity, the remaining foe jumped toward Cyrus with one arm ready to lash out. The shizznit stood calmly, even though the enemy was a few feet away. Before the hit connected, a clawed hand from the Dark Deinon slammed it hard on the ground. The creature tried to struggle from the hold of the dinosaur, but it was to no avail as the raptors jaws shredded the Neoshadow until it was no more.

The part of the battle was over and a slow clap from Kaize was heard. "Well done, Cyrus," she said. "I knew that those foes were no match for you. After all, we were made to handle any opposition that came our way." Cyrus called back his Dark Deinon, whose spirit returned into the black diamond. "Now I have a question for you."

"Go on. I'm listening."

"How come you fight with these people? Don't you see that they're the enemy? You're using your powers for the wrong side. Our sole purpose- our main reason- is to conquer all that stand in our way. But yet, you use the gift of darkness against this cause. Why?"

Cyrus lowered his head, his eyes hidden under the shadow of his hat's brim. "It's something that my Master once said to me." He then raised his head and smiled towards Kaize. "'It doesn't matter what you use, it's how you use it.'" He then turned to his comrades and back to Kaize. "And the reason I fight with these guys is because they're my homies. We all had eachother's back since the beginnin'. No matter what trick ass nark came in our way, we were able to beat their asses together. In your perspective, there is only one reason. However, I see that everything has a choice."

"So, it's your camaraderie and what you decided." Kaize thought about what Cyrus just said. "Whatever. What you just said had no validity. That Diogo corrupted you worse than I thought."

"What do you mean by that? How do you know my Master?"

Kaize turned her back toward the shizznit. "I can't tell you. It's-"

"'Something that I have to know for myself', I get the drill. But Kaize, answer this. Don't you think what you're doing is wrong? Do you enjoy using your powers like this?"

"No," Kaize answered. "I don't think what I'm doing is wrong and I don't enjoy it either. It was fate that I use my powers in this manner. It's my duty to fulfill the wishes of Ansem and control the darkness."

"Kaize…"

"It is time I depart. But believe me, we'll meet again."

Cyrus tried to catch up to the girl, but Kaize summoned a dark portal behind her and went through. The shizznit jumped forward, but the portal already disappeared and he fell onto the ground. "Ow… my nose…" he said as he got up and check his nose.

"Yo, O.G.!" Jack replied. "That battle was hella tight man!"

"Indeed," Lude said. "It's not everyday you see a dromaeosaur fight against a pack of Heartless."

"Are you okay?" Fayt asked. "It looked like you took a lot of energy during that battle."

"Nah, I'm cool," Cyrus said. He then looked back at the spot where Kaize stood and said, "I think Kaize isn't, though."

"Forget about her," Maria said. "She chose her path a long time ago. She has to be stopped."

"That's right," Donald agreed. "Now that we know Maleficent isn't the only one controlling the Heartless, we need to act fast."

"Good point," Cyrus said. "But first, let's focus on our objectives."

"First we'll go see what Cid's real job is," Sora said.

"Then we can go to the big bell in the Second District," Goofy said.

"Alright," Roger said. "And let's have the real men go first, if you don't mind."

"Oh, Apris," Nel sighed. The team went to the second district of the town, more determined to find the Keyhole of Traverse Town and save Riku and Kairi.

"_I can't shrug off what Kaize said,"_ Cyrus thought. _"Somethin's telling me that there's more to Kaize. Whatever it is, I'll know soon and maybe be some sort of help to her…"

* * *

_

Part 6.5: Dangerous Chime

The team returned to the First District. The area looked normal as usual. It was safe to say that the Heartless didn't come in this area yet. They went inside the Accessory Shop where they saw a different man behind the register. "Hello, may I help you?"

"Um… doesn't Cid work here?" Sora asked.

"Cid? No, he doesn't. I just asked him to take my place. I was sick for about a week and I wanted him to have my job until I could return."

"I get it."

"So, where is he?" Cyrus asked.

"Cid's standing behind the shop. He says he's waiting for you."

"Thank you, sir."

The team left the store and went upstairs behind the shop. They saw Cid standing against the wall. "Well, what took you guys so long?" he asked.

"Let's just say we ran into somebody," Ravage said.

"Maleficent?"

"No, but she was still trouble," Goofy said.

"I see."

"So Cid, what's this real job of yours?" Fayt asked.

"Well, I'm in the gummi business. Not only do I sell blocks, but I also help make ships."

"Really?" Roger said. "That's so cool."

"It is, isn't it. Oh, and speaking of ships, Cyrus. You, Maria, and Nel's vessel is all finished. It's waiting outside right next to Sora's."

"Tight," Cyrus said. "We knew you were the guy to call."

"What?" Everyone said.

"Well, like you guys said, the other ship was losing space," Maria said.

"In order for us to get everyone back safely, we needed more room," Nel said.

"And what better way than getting a powerful new ship," Cyrus said.

"What's it called?" Jack asked.

"Well, we're thinking of going with the S.S.S. Winnipeg."

"I remember that," Fayt said. "That's what you called your escape pod before we landed on Vanguard III, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"I'm not sure we should name it that," Maria said. "I don't even know why we have an extra 'S'."

"To make it sound really powerful." The Quark captain gave the shizznit a confused expression. "Alright, we'll drop it and just call it a Deathguise."

"You mean one of those Heartless ships?" Donald asked.

"That's right," Nel said. "You know how hard it is to stop them. So, we thought it was time for us to use their own weapon against them."

"Plus they look so cool!" Cyrus replied. "We wanted a sleek ship with some style. That's the other reason we got this."

"I guess we should go to the Second District," Ravage said.

"Yeah," Sora said. "Maybe that bell has something to do with the next Keyhole?"

"There's no point in standing here and talking about it," Sora replied. The team continued to the next area to get to the shop. As they navigated through the Second District, the team discovered more Heartless than usual. Luckily, the group were able to slice a path through the enemies. They then entered the Gizmo Shop, a small establishment covered in gears and switches that operated the large bell outside sitting above them. However, the area was also crawling with Heartless that the team had to defeat. After a few minutes of battling, the area was cleared of any opposition. They left the Gizmo Shop through the exit on the other side and climbed up a nearby ladder to the roof of the building that overlooked the entire district. After a brief battle with the smaller magic using Heartless, the group turned their attention to the bell, which was larger than what a few of them expected.

"I can see why there are legends about this bell," Goofy said.

"Well, how do we get through the fense?" Jack asked.

"I could burn it," Cyrus replied. "Burn, baby, burn!"

"Wouldn't that also burn this place down?" Mirage asked.

"Good point…"

"I would use my lightsaber, but there would be a chance that I might cut the bell in the process," Barriss said.

"Any ideas?" Ravage asked.

"We have a plan!" Sora said. The group turned their attention to the trio.

"What is it?" Sophia asked.

"You'll see."

"Do we have to?" Donald whined.

"It looks like the only way," Goofy said.

"Easy for you to say! You're way in the back!"

Sora began to count down. "Three! Two! One! Charge!" The trio rushed toward the planks of wood. Donald crashed into the fence first. Next was Sora, who was able to weaken the barrier and sandwich the duck mage in. The last was Goofy, who was able to break down the wall. The three fell in front of the new found path.

"My whole body hurts!" Donald replied once again. "I think I lost most of my teeth."

"Donald, you're a duck," Lude said. "You're toothless."

"But if I did, they would all be gone."

The three got up and Sora walked toward the rope. "Cid said to ring it three times, right?" Sora asked.

"I think she did," Mirage answered. "There is supposed to be a legend."

"Alright then. Here goes nothing." Sora pulled on the rope and the bell started to ring.

Everybody knew that the bigger the bell, the lounder the sound. And to Cyrus, the bell was not only larger than it was in the game, it was also louder. The rest of the team learned that, too. As soon as the bell rung, most of the team covered their ears at the right time. "Man, that thing was loud!" Jack replied.

"What?" Cyrus yelped while imitating Lil' Jon voice.

"I said 'the bell was really loud!'"

"Yeah!" Cyrus replied in the same rapper's voice. "Stuff happened on the ground!" Cyrus pointed to the fountain near the entrance to the First District. The group saw that the fountain was now burning and a picture of flowers was now being shown.

"Did you say something!" a Roger replied.

"It looks like Cyrus and Roger are half-deaf," Fayt said.

"What did he say?"

"Okay!" Cyrus said.

"I want to try something," Sophia replied. She held up her wand and used Restoration on the two. "Can you two hear what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," Roger answered.

"What did I just say?"

"You said 'what did I just say?" Cyrus said.

"I heard that, too," Roger replied. "We can hear again!"

"I guess Healing also cures partial deafness," Ravage said. "Now, back to the bell." Sora nodded and rung the bell. After the second time, the relief turned to a picture of trees and the decorative arch above the fountain began to glow. After the third and final pull, the water from the fountain rose up into pillars and the picture of butterflies appeared.

"Hey, look!" Donald replied. The group went to the edge of the roof and watched as the Keyhole revealed itself.

"We found it!" Sora replied.

"Let's get down from here and seal that Keyhole," Fayt replied. The team left their view point and ran to the ground below. They stood in front of the Keyhole, ready to seal the doorway to the Heart of the world.

That was until Barriss said, "I'm sensing a dark presence nearby." The team looked up and saw a large Heartless land on the ground. It was none other than Guard Armor, an enemy that they had to defeat on their first visit to Traverse Town.

"I thought we already stopped this one," Goofy said.

"I guess it wants another taste of defeat," Jack said.

"Let's indulge him," Ravage replied.

Ravage, Fayt, and Goofy attacked the enemy Heartless. Luckily, this one didn't put up much of a fight and was put down in less than a minute. The enemy's armor was littered on the ground. "That was supposed to be a fight?" Fayt asked.

"I don't think it's over yet," Sora said as he readied his Keyblade. The team turned to the remains of the Guard Armor and watched as they began to shake. Before they knew it, the pieces of the armor reassembled back to its Guard Armor design. Then, then enemy slammed its gauntlets onto the ground and raised its center piece flipped over. The parts that were once its feet bent and became hands. A helmet of the monster returned to the top of the armor. However, it opened and revealed two bright yellow eyes as it hovered above the ground as if it was light as a feather. The creature was a Guard Armor no more. Now, it had transformed into an Opposite Armor.

"It transformed into a more advanced tin can," Cyrus said.

"I'm ready to expose the kink in its armor," Ravage said.

"Let's do it," Maria replied.

Sora, Ravage, Jack, and Maria went into battle against Opposite Armor. Cyrus also joined the battle just before turning his MP3 Player to "Lap Dance" by N.E.R.D. As Jack and Maria shot at the creature from a distance, the rest attacked up close and personal. However, the attacks were bouncing off the enemy. Instead, the three were hit hard when clenched gauntlets punched forward, sending the trio back. It then turned its attention to Maria and Jack who were still shooting at it. Seeing that the enemy was coming closer, the two used hand to hand combat to fight the creature. Unfortunately, the foe swung its hands at the two, knocking away Maria and throwing Jack on the steps above. Cyrus used Power Up on him and his teammates and attacked the Opposite Armor with Fire Bolt. The fireball hit the foe square in the face, interrupting its attack. The Heartless retaliated by hurling its clawed glove at him. He was able to dodge one, but the other made impact. Jack destroyed one of the gauntlets with his Rapid Shot. He then got back to the lower level of the area and began shooting. The Opposite Armor turned to Jack and separated. It then spun its helmet head around like a wheel, hitting Jack, and then punching the shooter back. Ravage jumped up and began slicing at the foe with her Tiger Claws. She was able to destroy the other arm with powerful slices and dices. Now the Opposite armor was down to two legs and the torso. Cyrus and the rest of the team hurried to the finish it off. However, that was before the mid section rammed through the team. It then pointed the top of the midsection toward the group, attached its feet to the sides and hid its head behind the armor, becoming a powerful canon. The swordsmen were the first to attack, and the first to get hit as a ball of darkness that fired at the two. The shooters once again fired from a distance, weakening the Heartless and destroying one of its feet. Ravage continued her raid, but the living cannon fired at her. Fayt once again attacked the last foot along with Maria and Cyrus. It was destroyed, but now they were critically wounded from the Heartless' attack. Cyrus and Maria knew that it was time and used Wisdom Form. With rejuvenated health, the merged Cyrus hovered along the ground in a zigzag pattern as he avoided the shots of the Opposite Armor. He then fired his own rally of bullets at the foe aimed at its head. After about a few minutes of firing, the enemy Heartless was destroyed. The battle was over and the Wisdom Form reverted. "Well, that was easy," Jack said.

"That depends on what your definition of easy is," Ravage replied. The team went back to the Keyhole, ready to complete their mission with getting interrupted. Sora lifted the Keyblade, which started to react. The weapon shot a powerful beam of light at the hole, which sealed it. The heart of Traverse Town was now safely locked away.

"Okay, now that we finished locking up the Keyhole, it's time to start going to the next world," Sora said.

"With our gummi ships and the navigation gummi Cid installed, we should be able to arrive in other worlds," Fayt said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cyrus replied. "Let's go." The group went to the First District. After saying goodbye to their friends, they left the world of Traverse Town and continued on their saga.


End file.
